T he first test match of this series billed as the Championship of Test cricket went awfully wrong for the Indians. We did nothing right and were punished by a disciplined SA team.
First, the selectors did not pay attention to the composition of the team and selected players based on, I believe, zonal biases. Despite the long list of injured batsmen, we loaded our team with four fast bowlers and not enough batsmen. Dravid and Yuvraj not playing was known beforehand and Laxman dropped out too. So in a rush, the selectors asked Rohit Sharma to stay back after the 2 day practice game. He too twisted his ankle on the morning of the first day and we had a situation where the spare wicket-keeper was drafted in the playing eleven as a specialist batsman.
The only session that went India’s way was the first session on Day-1 when Zaheer bowled a superb spell and managed to get two wickets very early. Ashwell Prince was unlucky to get out on a armguard catch. After those two quick wickets, it was SA all the way with Kallis and Amla grinding the Indian bowling attack and demoralizing the fielders. I thought the Indian bowling changes were also predictable but then the Proteas had done their home work pretty well. Harbhajan needs to sit out on the current form. His bowling form, attitude and fielding is a huge worry. The last time he took a fifer was in March 2009 against New Zealand. (And July 2008 vs SL prior to that). It is about time we brought in another spinner, possibly Ojha.
Indian batting, after the flurry from Sehwag was cut to pieces in the first essay. What a magnificent spell Dale Steyn bowled in the afternoon. Sheer pace and accuracy. He brought a seemingly dead track to life with the changed cricket ball and produced sheer magic. Though we were on the receiving end of the spell I think it was probably the best bowling display by a visiting fast bowler that I have seen since Malcolm Marshall. The difference was that Marshall was threatening while Steyn was pin-point accuracy. His figures of 7/51 were truly deserved. That helped the Proteas to enforce the follow on and quickly take two second innings wickets on Day 3. Only one team could win the test match from then on and the only question was whether it will get over in 4 days or 5 days. They settled it in 4 days with Sachin fighting a lone battle to score yet another ton, his third successive so far. A thoroughly deserved win for the South Africans and that means India is on the back foot now. It would be interesting to see the team selection for the Second test.
I am a big fan of Jacques Kallis. He is a player who embodies the qualities of a good test player. Great batsman, excellent fielder and a good bowler too. Even at this late stage in his career he bowled at 144 K at the end of day 4 in India. His record is truly impressive with tons of runs, bucketful of wickets and handful of catches. He is physically very fit and I doubt if he has missed a lot of matches due to injuries. It is a pity that he played in the era of Hansie Cronje and therefore could not captain the Proteas on a regular basis.
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