AFTER a thrilling series between Australia and India, one had to bear the agony of watching the first Test between India and South Africa. That was a bad and negative advertisement for the game, and the two sides just could not have done any worse. The way it went, I guess both sides will claim victory at the end of a drawn series.
The Indians appeared desperate to avoid any hiccups playing at home so soon after losing out to Australia. On their part the South Africans themselves have not been at their best for the last few years. They are touring India with quite a few fresh faces. They have a captain who is clearly feeling the heat after having failed to do the trick for the team. And, they are in India under a coach for whom this happens to be the first assignment with the team. All this seems to have made them unsure of the ground they are standing on.
Two words that have often been heard coming out of the South African camp ever since it set foot on the Indian soil have been ‘caution’ and ‘patience’. There is naturally nothing wrong with the words themselves, as one definitely needs these two vital attributes to survive in the longer and the more gruelling version of the game. However, there is everything wrong with the way these two words have been interpreted by the South Africans.
It is a pretty harsh interpretation, and entails little, if anything, beyond safety. It is like playing for the sake of not losing the contest, which is contrary to the very spirit of the game, any game for that matter. The first task while undertaking a sporting contest is to come out on top of the rivals. ‘Safety’, ‘caution’, ‘patience’ and such other attributes are nothing but tools — relevant tools — to achieve that goal. They are not goals in themselves. They can never be.
As for India, the team is clearly on a low. This has been so for almost a year, and the series loss against Australia has not helped its cause either. The reaction of various Indian players regarding playing tracks, first against Australia and now against South Africa, is a manifestation of the prevailing lack of confidence in the camp. If things continue the way they have in the last few months, I guess some heads will roll sometime in the future. More on it, hopefully, at the end of the current series.
Before I sign off for the week, let me touch briefly Pakistan’s preparations for the tough assignment ahead. As I went through the list announced by the selectors, the first thought that came to mind was related to the openers’ slot. As I see it, leaving behind Taufiq Umar is not the most ideal decision that the selectors could have taken. To my eyes, he is technically one of the more conventional openers that Pakistan has. It is a pity that he was taken to India for the one-off game, but did not feature in the final squad. Under the circumstances, I am not sure on what ground he has been left out.
Both Imran Farhat and Salman Butt are aggressive openers without enough experience or technique to last long enough on the crease. Taufiq would have come handy in terms of plugging out one end. To hope that Yassir Hameed will fill out the slot, if need be, as the third opener in the touring party may prove to be a costly hope. I would be happy to be proven wrong by the three youngsters, but on paper, the opening slot looks to be slightly weak.
AFTER a thrilling series between Australia and India, one had to bear the agony of watching the first Test between India and South Africa. That was a bad and negative advertisement for the game, and the two sides just could not have done any worse. The way it went, I guess both sides will claim victory at the end of a drawn series.
