Amit Mishra successfully appeals against JP Duminy during the second day’s play at Nagpur. (Photo courtesy: AFP)
November 27, Friday, is all set to be an interesting and emotional day for cricket. The world is set to witness the first ever day and night Test, it’s Phillip Hughes’ first death anniversary and South Africa may finally end their nine year long streak of not losing a Test series away from home. Amidst all the pitch talks, the Day 3 of the third Test between India and South Africa at Nagpur may well be over on Friday and in all possibility in India’s way. South Africa will hope for their stalwarts Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers to weave their usual magic but another 278 batting fourth is more than a tough ask. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: India vs South Africa 2015, 3rd Test at Nagpur
The spin trio of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Amit Mishra have threatened South Africa’s supremacy in Tests and it wouldn’t be fair on them if the entire share of India’s dominance so far goes to turning wickets? So far, the Test series has lasted six days and 12, 10, 18, 10, 12 and 20 wickets have fallen in each of the days. No doubt, the spinners have dominated the proceedings in surfaces that have provided them great aid but to remain the No.1 side and be tagged as a world-beater, a team must be well equipped to excel in all conditions. Full Cricket Updates: India vs South Africa 2015, 3rd Test at Nagpur, Day 2
“Diabolical” wicket: As wickets fell like pack of cards on Thursday and South Africa were bowled out for 79, not only their lowest since readmission to international cricket but also the lowest Test total scored against India, Nagpur wicket’s behaviour was criticised by the cricket fraternity, some going to the extent of calling it “diabolical”. Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell tweeted, “This wicket is diabolical!! Nine legitimate wicket chances in the first hour with three plays and misses every over!” He went on to call the wicket a “minefield.”
Did anyone blame the pitch when South Africa were bowled out for 84 at Johannesburg when Sreesanth ran through them? Was it because it was played in South Africa?
Australian great Matthew Hayden, who has scored a lot of runs in India, expressed his concerns through Twitter and said that he was disappointed to see the quality of Test cricket reduced to this. He voiced surprise over the fact that why conditions need to be tampered in favour of results. Former England captain Michael Vaughan and the recently retired Michael Clarke, who in 2013 suffered a 4-0 defeat in Test series in India, joined the bandwagon criticising the wicket. While Vaughan tweeted, “This pitch in Nagpur is nothing short of diabolical for Test Cricket … Telling me that was prepared to last 5 days..!!!!!!!!!!”
Echoing the concerns of Hayden and also Tom Moody, Clarke went on to define what he felt was a perfect pitch, “Good cricket = Something for everyone. Swing and seam early, good for batting, spin day 3,4,5. Someone wins and someone loses.”
Despite Clarke’s 151 in the Cape Town Test of 2011, South Africa suffered an 8-wicket defeat at Newlands. Australia were bowled out for 47 in the second innings and the game ended in third day. Was that wicket “diabolical”?
It wasn’t just criticism that this pitch drew. The likes of Herschelle Gibbs, Jimmy Neesham, Scott Styris, Aaron Finch and Robin Peterson had neutral views. While Gibbs believes that these sort of wickets are a part of top level sports, his fellow South African, Robin Peterson, a spinner himself, tweeted, “It’s called Test Cricket because it tests the skills of the various disciplines. Not seeing much of this at the moment #heavilyfavouringspin.” Neesham on the other hand went on to take a dig at the ongoing Australia-New Zealand series. The Perth Test was played on a batting paradise with plentiful runs scored and ended in a draw. Neesham tweeted, “People can complain about pitches all they want but this is a hell of a lot more entertaining to watch than the Perth Test.”
While the Twitter battle continued at one platform, the likes of JP Duminy, Ashwin, Jadeja, MorneMorkel were fighting it hard at Nagpur. Irrespective of the support from the pitch, Morkel ended up with six wickets in the Test, Duminy’s 35 got South Africa to 79.Ashwin said at the press conference at the end of day’s play that bowlers still have go out and bowl the right balls to get the wicket. When asked about the 22-yard strip, a livid Ashwin defended the wicket and said, “I did not complain when I played in Johannesburg. I was dropped for a year. I am not going to complain for playing here either. I see no reason to complain. Swing, seam and bounce, match over in 2 days in Trent Bridge (England). Morne Morkel setting up Virat Kohli a treat for the purists during India vs South Africa 2015 3rd Test at Nagpur, Day 1
I don’t know what that is about. What is the problem with spin and bounce? It is good even spin and bounce, isn’t it? It is about skills for batsmen to play and counter.”
Ashwin’s frustration stems from the fact that over emphasising on the pitch takes the sheen away from his 5 for 32 that put India on top.
As mentioned earlier, this is Test cricket and nothing comes easy. India got the same conditions as South Africa. Back in 2012-13, India prepared tracks suiting them against England but their spin-bowling duo of Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar bowled better than Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha, helping England win 2-1. Similarly, in 2007, Indian seam attack led by Zaheer Khan outdid the Englishmen in their backyard as India ended up winning in England.
It’s shining in adversity that creates champions. Remember a teenager Sachin Tendulkar at the most difficult wicket at Perth in 1991-92? Or VVS Laxman’s 96 at the greenest Durban which helped India level the series. And exactly three years back Faf du Plessis in his debut Test, scored an incredible hundred against all odds to save the Test for South Africa.
Home teams never do any favour to the tourists and India never receives the same when they tour abroad. Not many teams apart from the West Indies sides led by Clive Lloyd and Viv Richard, and Australian sides led by Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting have been able to master all conditions.
The pitch: While it will be unfair to criticise the pitch because of the spin it generated from Day 1, at the same time little bit of bounce would have helped nevertheless. The variable bounce of the surface made it difficult for the players and while home teams have every right to vouch for tailor-made wickets, at the same time, the national boards and curators must ensure that they prepare wickets that are good enough to last all five days. Result-oriented wickets are good for the game but wickets need to be prepared those last 450 overs spanning five days. Nagpur fails in that category.
Also too much of reliance on these kind of surfaces may hamper India’s chances when they tour abroad. The Nagpur pitch cannot be a benchmark for Indian bowlers as they certainly would not get favourable conditions when they travel abroad. Having said that, while it’s important to rely on advantageous conditions at the same time, boards should ensure the preparation is apt for the national sides when they tour abroad. Or else, cricket will only see home sides dominating contests.
Hats off to the South African attitude: South Africa have been fabulous travellers but what has been impressive is their attitude and the way they have come out and accepted that their performances have been below par. Amla didn’t put blame on the pitch at Mohali and their coach Russell Domingo at end of play on Day Three said, “You have to give India credit. They have prepared wickets that suit their style of play, and their spinners have been really good. They have bowled outstandingly well, and we won t criticise the pitch right now. If you re winning the series, it is easy to criticise the pitch, but when you re behind in the series, it is difficult to criticise the pitch.”
With only two days gone, there’s plenty of time left in the match and the focus should be the 278 more runs that South Africa need to level the series. They have enough batting in de Villiers, Amla and du Plessis to do that but odds are heavily stacked against them, as it’s not often teams have chased that many in fourth innings and most importantly they are up against the in-form Indian spin trio in conditions more suited to them. For now, let’s welcome the eventful day of Test cricket, giving the pitch talk a backseat.
(Suvajit Mustafi consumes cricket for lunch, fiction for dinner and munches numerous other snacks throughout the day. Yes, a jack of several trades, all Suvajit dreamt of was being India’s World Cup winning skipper but ended up being a sports writer, author, screenwriter, director, copywriter, graphic designer, sports marketer , strategist, entrepreneur, philosopher and traveller. Donning so many hats, it’s cricket which gives him the ultimate high and where he finds solace. He can be followed at @RibsGully and rivu7)