da poker： The Indian team really seems to have little faith in their collective ability; with a positive frame of mind, the stars in the batting line-up would have had no problems handling the pace attack of South Africa
Erapalli Prasanna21-Nov-2001The second Test was a crucial one for the Indian team. It was thus boundto generate a lot of interest, and I for one was keenly looking out forhow the team would come through the ordeal.
The Indian team really seems to have little faith intheir collective ability; with a positive frame of mind, the stars inthe batting line-up would have had no problems handling the pace attackof South Africa. Even if a series victory would be asking for too much,it is certain that the current Indian side has more than enough talentto give their opponents a run for their money.
It was to be expected that the wicket would suit the fast bowlers, likemost pitches in South Africa. The Indian team management yet again gottheir team selection wrong by not picking a third seamer instead of oneof the spinners, or perhaps even as a fifth bowler. My personal view hasalways been that a side can win a Test only if they can bowl out theopposition twice. This, of course, will not happen unless the requiredbowling strength is present, as has been proven amply by history.The other thread of logic that can be applied here is that if sixbatsmen are unable to accumulate enough runs for a strong total, it ishighly unlikely that a seventh batsman will be able to contributesubstantially enough to do so. The team management needs to be talked tofor their policy of adhering to such illogical paths of action, and theyhave to be made accountable for their deeds as well.After winning the toss, asking South Africa to bat first with just twofast bowlers was a brave decision. Sourav Ganguly’s captaincy in otheraspects also was impressive. A dropped catch off Herschelle Gibbs’ bladewas, in my opinion, the turning point; Javagal Srinath may have bowledwith even more fire had this catch been taken, and South Africa probablywould not have been able to post as large a total as they did.The Indian team really seems to have little faith in their collectiveability; with a positive frame of mind, the stars in the batting line-upwould have had no problems handling the pace attack of South Africa.Even if a series victory would be asking for too much, it is certainthat the current Indian side has more than enough talent to give theiropponents a run for their money.The second innings probably justifies this statement. I was veryimpressed with Deep Dasgupta’s performance in this match. I encounteredhim at the National Cricket Academy and have always felt that he had thepotential to be a good wicket-keeper batsman. I am glad that he isproving me right on this tour.The drawn result of the Test might have been due largely to the weatherconditions, but enough plus points surfaced in the match for the Indiansto take heart ahead of the final game. Srinath and Harbhajan Singh haveclearly emerged as our strike bowlers, and with one more wicket-takingspeedster to support then, the Indian attack will be a force to reckonwith. The batting also looks to be settling down well, with Dasguptadoing a promising job as opener.Finally, a word on the controversy currently swirling in South Africa.Whatever events might have transpired on the field during the last fivedays, Match Referee Mike Denness undoubtedly outshone them all throughhis action of banning and penalising six Indian cricketers. Thedecision, in my opinion, was unfair and one-sided; even within the timeframe of just the second Test, different standards were blatantlyapplied to Indian and South African players. The judgement has stirredup a hornets’ nest, and it will be interesting to wait and watch for theactions that the ICC will take.