India talked a mighty big game ahead of the start of the T20 series against South Africa, but all that talk has been backed up by very little evidence on the field.
Yesterday, as they were wiped away by six wickets, the crowd in Cuttack showed their frustrations as they pelted the field with bottles.
“We didn’t play good cricket. The one thing we wanted to do after the first game was address the running between the wickets, and also losing wickets in pairs,” Mahendra Singh Dhoni lamented after the match.
Despite those aims, the home side contrived to lose their two best batsmen to admittedly wonderful pieces of fielding by Chris Morris and David Miller. They also lost most of their wickets in batches, which suggests that they have achieved little in terms of progress in Cuttack.
“In cricket, you get performances like these, and the most important thing now is how you bounce back. We have to stay positive, and remember that we have bounced back from worse performances than this,” Dhoni warned.
“Now, we have to turn up for Kolkata, and then move onto the ODI series.”
All the problems, then, are with India, while South Africa reflect on a clinical first week in the country. Last night, everything they did with the ball clicked, as they blew India away for just 92, their second lowest ever score in this format.
“It is easy to captain when all the bowlers perform like that,” Faf du Plessis chuckled.
“That was an exceptional performance, definitely the best bowling we have had as a T20 team,” he added.
“All our plans that we made in training came together, and we try to never be too predictable in this format.”
There were plenty of pleasing displays from the tourists, with Kyle Abbott again bowling with good purpose upfront, and young Kagiso Rabada continuing his fine start to international cricket.
But, while young Rabada navigates his way into world cricket, there was a comeback of note from Albie Morkel, who was jetted in at the 11th hour to join the tour party.
Having had plenty of success in IPL cricket all over India, it was no surprise that he was picked to play in the second match, though his batting prowess would have been expected to swing the match more than his bowling.
As it was, Morkel marked the occasion of his 50th appearance for his country with a man-of-the-match spell, grabbing three for 12, after spending 18 months in the international wilderness.
“I really enjoyed today, and a couple of months ago, I would never have thought that I would be back playing international cricket again,” he said.
Keen to deviate attention away from his own exploits, Morkel added that he was happy to have played a small part in the success of the team. The reason South Africa have hardly broken a sweat is due to India being bizarrely laboured in much of their disciplines.
Apart from Sharma’s century in the opening match, and Ravinchandran Ashwin’s probing spells, none of India’s big names have stepped up to the plate so far. Of course, that can all change at a moment’s notice, and the tourists are wary of that.
“They are still a quality side, with a lot of world-class players. I am sure they will come back in Kolkata, and we can’t take them lightly,” Morkel warned.
Morkel and the rest of the South African middle-order will be quite keen to get more of a game from the hosts. It will be the only time they can get a hit.
To this point, JP Duminy has been busy filling his boots, with two undefeated knocks securing the series with a game to spare.
Maybe, just maybe, the real India will finally rock up in Kolkata. About time, too. - The Star