Where to now, India?

In the end, the series result was a fair reflection on the strengths, weaknesses and fortitude of the two teams.

South Africa, under pressure to win at home after being 0-1 down, did everything that was required to get the result in their favor.

India, on the other hand,had their chances, which they let slip.

When the crunch moments came, one team had the nous and the fortitude to swing it in their favor. And that team was not India.

So where to now, Team India?

You will now play a series of ODIs, win a few, and all will be forgiven. Then you will step into the World Cup stage, where you will not get past the Super 8's.

And then,the recriminations will begin.

Questions will be asked of the coach, the captain, the team management, the senior players. Questions that have been asked before, questions with no adequate answers.

The usual cliches of "processes" and "no need for a bowling coach" and "the need to perform without focusing on the result" will be bandied. Apologists will spin this one way, detractors another.

And where will that leave Team India?

For starters, Lalit Modi will be a worried man, because you cannot sell a product that is mediocre, however good your marketing department is.

Sharad Pawar will be worried because you cannot angle for the top job at the ICC when the Board you are heading fronts up a team that cannot win. But then again, his main challenger is a Pom, so maybe he will feel a lot more secure.

Rahul Dravid will be a worried man because, unlike his predecessor, he has nothing spectacular to show for his term in office. Ganguly had Kolkata, Headingley, Adelaide and Multan, the ICC Champions Trophy and the finals of the World Cup. Rahul Dravid has Jamaica..or Karachi, Mumbai, Durban and Newlands ( "since winning is not important, learning is").

For an Indian captain who was reposed with unprecedented faith, by being appointed captain till the end of the World Cup,he has done very little to justify that faith.

Greg Chappell will be a worried man. Failure to get India to "the next level" basically torpedoes his prospects of coaching in the long term, for an international team. Time and time again, the team has repeated the exact same mistakes in similar situations under his watch.

Maybe there is a De Bono hat somewhere that explains this!!!

And what of the rest of the team?

The bowlers did a sterling job, and there is some serious talent there that needs nurturing. Bowling coach,anyone?

And the batting? For too long, India has been carrying passengers, who do just enough to justify their place in the next game or the next series. Sometimes, it is not even that. Past reputations are used as justifications for the continued presence of players in the side, players who should have been sidelined a long while ago. Playing favorites with team selections may win you brownie points with some in the short term, but will bite you in the rear at the most inopportune time.

So, where do we go from here?

For starters, candidates for the middle order must be identified and blooded. India has about 10 tests from the end of the World Cup until the Australia series. Sufficient time to start drafting in kids and giving them that 10 test cushion, so that, even if the veterans play against Australia, there are identified replacements for the medium term.

A bowling coach is a MUST. Pigheadedness by the Team management does not justify the non-inclusion of a bowling coach pronto.

And the captain? I had advocated the need for separate captains for tests and ODIs. This series has reinforced that view.

And the coach? if India win the World Cup, Greg Chappell will retain his job. If not, the search for a new coach will begin in earnest.

Tom Moody was my first choice as coach when John Wright quit, and if he is available, still is. Otherwise, Darren Lehmann is a good alternate, if he is interested in the job with India.

And me personally? No more spending big money and waking up at ungodly hours to watch a team that, quite frankly, does no justice to its talent or hype!!!

Congratulations South Africa

for winning the test series after being 0-1 down.

for playing cricket with a lot of heart and guts.

for winning the key moments and stepping up when it mattered.

for talking the talk and backing it by walking the walk.

The 4th day's play and Sachins batting

The third test stands at the crossroads at the end of the 4th day. Either team can win it from here.

Some intelligent batting by the Proteas, not losing early wickets while keeping the score board moving, will build the pressure on India.

A couple of early wickets and, with the ball getting softer and reverse swinging, will put India in the drivers seat.

India's bowlers deserve to win for the performance they have collectively put. India's batter deserve to lose in disgrace.

South Africa collectively deserve to win because of the effort they put in with the bat and the ball..

I do not why, but this test has the feel of Adelaide 2003, except that India are at the receiving end this time.

In the cross hairs, is Sachin Tendulkar.
His imitation of the "Strokeless Wonder" will be criticised by one and all, and understandably so. But what will fall through the cracks is the lack of ownership and responsibility shown by Dravid during this passage of play.

Given that Sachin was not stroking the ball, not taking the initiative,"pottered and scratched, padded and swiveled, nudged and tapped and the Indian innings came to a standstill'", what was Dravid doing in the meanwhile?

For a batsman who was well set, the onus was on him to take the initiative. As the captain of the team , it was his responsibility to take the initiative. As a senior member of the side, it was his duty to take the initiative. And he fell short on all three counts.

Watching Sachin scratch around brought back memories of Bangalore 2004 and Mumbai 2005. A once great batsman unable to battle his inner demons.But watching Rahul play the way he did was the clearest example of "processes" gone bad!!

India's middle order woes

It is saying something isn't it, that a middle order boasting of such worthies as Rahul Dravid (107 Tests), Sachin Tendulkar (135 Tests), Saurav Ganguly (91 Tests) and VVS Laxman(80 Tests), have tamely handed over the initiative to the opposition when put under pressure..

For two tests on the trot!!!!

The fellow showing the most enterprise in both games has been the guy who spent least time with this bunch!!!

India needs to seriously re-evaluate its middle order options for two reasons

1. An inability to deliver in crunch situations
2. The Age factor.

Irrespective of the outcome of this test( and if India win, apologists will cite "inimical conditions" to explain away the performance of the middle order), India must start identifying and grooming successors to the Fab Four at the earliest.

Ha!!!

As if things could not get any worse, they just did!!!

63.7	Steyn to Patel, OUT
	MM Patel c Pollock b Steyn 0 (1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
Sreesanth stood his ground after Kallis claimed the catch, the umpires had a chat but they never asked for the replay and went Kallis' word. Replays confirms that the catch was taken cleanly. Karthik is on 38 and he is running out of partners, Munaf Patel is the last man in. They are getting ready for another ball from Steyn but the over has been already bowled! Good length delivery, close to the off stump line. Munaf Patel backs away and drives it straight to Pollock at mid-off. India fold up for 169. Done and dusted in 63.7 overs!
63.6	Steyn to Sreesanth, OUT, short of a good length delivery, in the channel and shaping away. Perfect line and length to the number ten batsman. Sreesanth had no option but to play at it and the edge goes low towards the slip cordon. Kallis at second slip swoops low to his left and takes it as clean as a whistle. India nine down.
	S Sreesanth c Kallis b Steyn 4 (5m 5b 1x4 0x6) SR: 80.00
63.5	Steyn to Sreesanth, FOUR, pitched up outside the off stump and Sreesanth has a go at it, ball clips the outside edge and goes just wide of Kallis at second slip
63.4	Steyn to Sreesanth, no run, fuller length delivery, drilled straight to the fielder at mid-off
63.3	Steyn to Sreesanth, no run, left alone outside the off stump
63.2	Steyn to Sreesanth, no run, short of a good length delivery, in the channel outside the off stump and the ball goes past the outside edge
Karthik had made up his mind that he was going to settle for just a single and was not even looking to turn back but Zaheer Khan kept running.
63.1	Steyn to Karthik, 1 run, OUT, believe it or not the Indians have managed to pull off another run out! good length delivery outside the off stump and Karthik drives it past the fielder at cover. Zaheer Khan takes off for the second run but Karthik stands his ground. In the end it's a big mix-up. Harris fires in the throw at the striker's end, ball comes in at a nice height and Boucher drags it on to the stumps. Zaheer is well short of his crease.
	Z Khan run out 1 (20m 7b 0x4 0x6) SR: 14.28
Steyn to continue

India and the art of self disintegration

6/1
6/2
90/3
114/4
115/5
121/6
147/7
165/8
169/9
169/10

tells its own story.

Stalemate at Newlands?

India 414. South Africa 373. India leads by 41 runs.

India did well in the end to gain a lead of 41. It could have been much better when the South African scorecard read 283/6. It could have been much worse when the South African scorecard read 177/2.

The only grouse I have with the Indian effort was the ground fielding. I mean, even schoolboys put in more effort during galli games and here are members of Team India, proud owners of the India cap, who were, to put it mildly, pathetic.

So where now from here.?IMHO, India needs to bat for 80 overs tomorrow. Target a score of around 260-280, which, when coupled with the lead, should put India in a position of comfort.

As a statement of intent, India could even re-jig the batting order, with VVS coming in at 3 and Rahul at 5. ( Or how about this batting order - Sachin, Sehwag, VVS, SCG, RD, WJ, KKDK, ZK, AK, SS, MP? That will be a real statement of intent :) )

Batting 80 overs will give India about 8 overs in the evening tomorrow to have a go at the Proteas, and the seamers can resume afresh on Saturday. This also allows India to use up about 20-25 overs prior to getting the spinners on.

What if India capitulates? Even in that situation, if India can have an overall score of 140-150, it will be a tricky score chasing last.India will, in such circumstances, go for an all out attack, and with South Africa under pressure to win the series, could lead to a very interesting passage of play.

All in all, India still holds 3 of the 4 aces going into Day 4.

Am I missing something?

Barry Richards incessant ramblings when India was bowling and this critique of India's batting makes me wonder exactly which team holds the upper hand at the moment in the 3rd Test between India and South Africa at Cape Town.

First Barry., Or rather his whine about India not showing greater initiative while bowling. And his wishful projections of South Africa taking the lead by the end of tomorrow and having enough wickets and time to build up a substantial lead on day 4.

Here's my take -

India needs to tighten its ground fielding, but so far, no catches have been spilt and the seamers have done a fair enough job with the ball.Granted, India could have utilized the double spin option sooner and maybe Kumble could have changed ends, but besides that, I do not see what else India could have done, given the circumstances and given the conditions.

The wicket is not going to get any better with each passing day. With the sun beating down on the ground over the next 3 days, the wicket is only going to dust up more and the cracks will get more prominent.
The ball is now 41 overs old and getting softer so run making will get more difficult, especially with the spinners operating.
The spinners will get more involved in the game on days 3 ,4 and 5, and given the turn and bounce Kumble extracted when he hit the right lengths, batsmanship will not be easy.
The ball has also started to go Irish, and in Munaf Patel and Zaheer Khan, India has the bowlers who can exploit this.
India will probably exercise the Sachin Tendulkar option sometime tomorrow. Given Sachin's penchant to extract enormous turn ( albeit with little control), I would not be too surprised if that creates a flutter in the South African dressing room.

Given all of the above, to expect South Africa to consistently maintain a runrate of 3.25-3.5 per over over a period of 90 overs and losing only about 5 wickets is more in the realms of fantasy.

Now about the initiative bit. For all the carping about how India was not forcing the issue, the South Africans have been equally guilty of letting things drift. So its even-stevens on that count.

Now about India's batting and Dileep's gripe :- India scored 414 runs!! I mean,at the end of the Durban test, if someone would have said that India would score 400 runs batting first against the South Africans, that person would have been laughed at!!!

Let us also not forget that every single batsman in the top 7 got into double figures and 5 of the 7 got scores of 40 or more. For a batting lineup that capitulated so easily at Durban, I think this was a huge effort. Sure India could have done with more runs,any team would. but now that India has the runs on the board, it is up to the Indians to defend the total and for the South Africans to better it.

As things stand today, South Africa need another 71 runs to avoid the follow on with 9 wickets in hand. After avoiding the follow on, they need to score quickly enough to overhaul the Indian total and have enough time to build a substantial lead.

254 runs were scored on the first day for the loss of 3 wickets, 304 runs were scored on the second for the loss of 8 wickets.

I do not expect this trend to continue. If anything, the scoring rates will decline and the wickets lost/day will increase.

Day 3 will give us a clearer picture of where this test match is heading. Insofar, it is India's Test to lose. And if they do, they would have to have played extremely poorly over 3 days . And I do not see that happening!!!