Post South Africa series

A 1-1 is not a fair result in the end of the series which was well fought and dominated by India after the centurion drubbing. India lost the plot on day 4 when they allowed SA to race to 341 from 6/130. At that scoreline with an out of form Boucher and injured Kallis on the crease, it could have been a easy victory if any one of them was dislodged earlier. But India failed to cease the initiative.

Th captaincy became defensive, except for Zaheer and Harbhajan there were no intent from the other bowlers. One of them was even fined for his now usual (mis)behavior.  What is the use of such a bowler who is unable to provide the breakthroughs when needed and has his own set of rituals to follow even if the over rate is slow. I raised that point in one of the posts below and there it was, India was fined for slow over rate. Kallis was one of the factor behind the slow over rate when he frequently asked for physio during his not out innings.

A target of 340 was always going to be tough on day 5 wicket. And if India had any outside chances to win the test they were dependent on Sehwagasque start,alas he too switched off. he went to defensive mode and scored just 11 off 40 bals before getting out.

If Sehwag could have got going his trademark style who knows the Saffers would have been under some pressure.

Gambhir once again showed his class in 2nd innings, he not only played with an injured left arm, but also stuck out in the middle depriving the SA bowlers of any chances to flutter India.  He came good in this series in 2 tests he played. A 80 in last innings followed by patient, fighting 90 in this one. A century would have been better, but this team is not about the milestones, but the fighting spirits.

India lost horribly in the first test, came back great in 2nd to dismiss SA for 131 and almost won the 3rd test. It was a replica of 2007 when India messed up their batting in 2nd innings and this time it was the bowling.

The biggest question after this series would be Dravid. What next ? Is he going to wait till May to go to West Indies and England thereafter or would he call quits. There is no competitive cricket to follow for him except IPL 4 to help gain some batting form. But the question is how long will he prolong himself after a rut which has gripped him for a year now.

The question is how long would Sachin Tendulkar carry on. Would he retire after the World Cup? Or quit ODIs and continue tests. I think that would be the most possible scenario that he would give up ODIs to prolong his test career by a year or 2. This year is very important for India considering the tests it has to play in 4 continents or countries — India, West Indies, England and Australia. We would be anticipating nothing less than wins in WI and Australia and an epic series to follow in England. And if India faces a mass exodus in its 3 best batsmen then does it have the replacements ready for the remaining greats of Indian great middle order of 2000s?

A lot of this would clarify in the coming months.