India v/s South Africa Test 1 Day 1

India 156/5 at the end of the days play.

The Toss:- was won by India who duly elected to bat.

This decision will be debated if India go on to lose the test, with the critics harping on the fact that an undercooked Indian batting lineup was exposed, first up, on a wicket that has bounce and pace and enough lateral movement to keep the bowlers interested. With the wicket expected to play its best on Day 2, this will be more grist to the mill for critics at large.

On the flip side, it is a bold decision in keeping with the decision to sit out Irfan Pathan. Yes, the wicket has juice, no doubt aided by the "sweating" of the Hessian covers put ostensibly for preventing the cracks on the wicket from widening. However, the wicket will become even more two paced as the aforementioned cracks get more prominent and the bowlers footmarks come into play over the course of 4 innings. Anil Kumble then looms as the most important factor going into the 4th innings and I believe this, more than any other consideration, tilted the decision to bat first.

The Indian Innings :-

At the end of the day, the Indians will feel that they lost one wicket too many over the course of the day. If the light had been offered an over prior to when it actually was, India would have been pretty content with the position they were in ( 4 wickets down for around 150).

The wicket itself does not look like an easy one to bat on, and at no time did any of the batsmen look settled. Sachin and Rahul got done by beauties after they had done all the hard work, and VVS has reason to feel aggrieved, having got out in poor light at the end of the day.

The wicket itself is two paced, with the bounce being up and down. Some balls have stayed low, and with the cracks on the wicket widening and the wicket aiding lateral seam movement all through the day, batting wont be easy hereon in.

The South African bowlers bowled as they were expected to, and were always in the game although they may feel a little miffed at not having snapped a couple more wickets.
The fragile Indian batting line up showed a lot of gumption, and while none of the batsmen scored a big one, all in all it was a fairly satisfactory day's outing for the Indian batsmen.

Verdict :-

South Africa's day, on points.

Looking Forward :-

If Saurav and Dhoni can see through the early start tomorrow, they will still have about 10-15 overs tommorrow before the new ball becomes due to pile on the runs. A total of around 250-280 will be competitive, and anything more will be a bonus.Lose early wickets,and the initiative will have been handed over to the Proteas on a platter.