In a match where runs were hard to come by, South Africa degraded India in the first of the two-match Test series. The comments made by head coach Gautam Gambhir during the post-match press conference have sparked a series of controversies and discussions regarding the pitch used at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Nevertheless, the defeat caused the Indian team to lose one place in the WTC points table, while the reigning champions occupied the second position.
South Africa scored 159 in their first innings, which India successfully chased and grabbed a lead of 30 runs. The Proteas batters then made another contribution of more than 150 runs, with Temba Bavuma not out on 55. It was indeed a very unusual match where there was only one fifty plus score. Still, in the last innings, India could not get past 124 runs and consequently got out for 93 runs. They also missed the services of captain Shubman Gill who got retired hurt earlier because of a neck spasm. Simon Harmer was the star for the Proteas, capturing four wickets in each innings.
With each series India’s home run becoming worse, the captain, coach, and management may need to make some very important decisions if they want to be in the race for World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle.
Now, let’s find out the 4 main points from the IND vs SA 1st Test.
No clarity of role regarding Washington Sundar:
The top-order’s role is the hardest part of the game as they have to keep defending a new and hard red ball. While the middle-order’s role is to provide substantial support. Washington Sundar mostly batted at No.8 during the England tour. Last month he was the seventh batter against West Indies. However, in the South Africa Test, Sundar was asked to bat at No.3. He scored a total of 60 runs in two innings.
Though the pitch and limited scoring made it a below-par match for all players, 60 is not a bad figure for him. His natural positions are No. 7 and below, where he has scored most runs in his Test career, and has got a couple of fifties too. It is possible that his batting order misplacement has resulted in the team’s unclear roles already.
Bar Sai Sudharsan or Devdutt Padikkal, No.3 Dilemma:
The line-up disaster could have been prevented by having Dhruv Jurel at No.3, who has already proven his skills in the domestic circuit. However, as a future option, home Tests are the best time to train up either Sai Sudharsan or Devdutt Padikkal. The Chennai-born player went with the team for the entire England tour and was also getting his India debut. He returned with around 150 runs, one of which was a half-century. In the West Indies series, he was batting a bit better and got painfully close at 87.
The Karnataka batter was, however, ruled out of the England tour due to an injury. But he made his return with a bang, scoring five fifties in the Maharaja Trophy, another fifty in the Duleep Trophy, 150 against Australia A, and 96 in the Ranji Trophy. A player like Devdutt Padikkal would be dying for a chance to show what he is made of on the big stage. The 2nd Test in Guwahati looks like a good opportunity.
Poor Use of Spinners:
The first Test saw the inclusion of four spinners Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar, along with the two fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. In the initial innings, the quick bowlers shared the spoils of seven wickets conceding 26 runs in over 26. Yadav was the most effective bowler of the innings, with two wickets coming from 14 balls he bowled. The other three spin bowlers bowled 15 overs, took one wicket among them, and Sundar bowled only one of those.
In the second innings, Jadeja was the lead bowler with 20-3-50-2 i.e. he took 2 wickets conceding 50 runs in 20 overs and bowled three maidens. Patel had one wicket in 14 overs, while Kuldeep took two in eight. Sundar did not bowl in the second innings, while Siraj took only two overs. The scorecard from this match indicates that the decision to use four spinners was quite wasteful. It’s not the best strategy when at least one spinner is not fully utilized. Three spinners sound like a fair number, and four are just ridiculous. It is another strategic decision which will have to be taken into consideration when the two teams clash again on November 22.
Axar Patel Doesn’t Have that many performances for India in tests:
One more hard decision for the team management will be to rethink about Axar Patel’s going Yokohama Reds inclusion in the playing XI for red-ball matches. The left-arm quick bowler got 2 wickets in total for the first Test through the two innings. He was at his best in 2021 but has not been able to perform well since then. He got 36 wickets in 2021 and has only a total of 21 more till now, inclusive of the ongoing series.
India can start shifting their focus away from the 31-year-old, especially from WTC perspective. Furthermore, Test matches at home can be used to nurture young players. The 21-year-old Nishant Sindhu, who plays the same role as Patel doing nothing but fixes, thrashed South Africa A for just 4 runs off 16 balls today in Rajkot. Although there is a difference in formats, it would not be right to say that Tests are more difficult than One-Dayers, it’s just one of the examples that tell about the growing talent in the Indian set-up.
