New Delhi: India’s 30-run defeat by South Africa in the first Test at the Eden Gardens opened a can of worms and a barrage of criticism directed at coach Gautam Gambhir. He asked for some sort of surface at Eden Gardens, which turned out to be an “under-prepared pitch”. Questions have also been raised as to whether the current crop of Indian batsmen are well-equipped against a quality spin and why the team management is not confident of fielding specialists in Test cricket.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SIGN UP NOW!Former Indian batsman Manoj Tiwary questioned the technique of Indian batsmen against spin and on surfaces where there is more than average turn.“This is not the first time they have not been able to score runs on a spin-friendly wicket,” he told TimesofIndia.com.“The reason is simple. On a spinning wicket average, where there is minimal turnover, all the Indian batsmen are fine. But when they play rank turners or when they rotate more, their technique is just not up to par. That’s why they try to get out of the situation by playing attacking shots – sometimes even when the situation doesn’t call for it. The situation doesn’t call for a big shot and people don’t call for it, it’s natural, the execution is natural. is a problem – that’s why you get out – but it happens because your defense is weak and that’s why you choose to attack,” he said.Former Indian off-spinner R Ashwin expressed a similar view on the technical shortcomings of Indian batters on his YouTube show Ash Ki Baat.“On the spin tracks, you have to get on the pitch with the ball or go straight back to defence. We saw three players with high-quality defense – Temba Bavuma, Washington Sundar and Axar Patel,” Ashwin said.
If you want to play on tough pitches, your anti-spin game has to be very good. If this is not the case, then do not play on such courses.
R Ashwin
“If you want to play on tough pitches, your anti-spin game has to be very good. If it’s not, don’t play on those pitches.”“We are not the best spinners at the moment. A lot of Western teams are much better spinners. They practice a lot. We are excellent fast bowlers because we take it as a challenge,” Ashwin noted.Tiwary also questioned the Indian batsmen’s inability to play sweep shots, which he believes has become a dying art in their armoury.“On the spin tracks, you have to play sweeps, reverse sweeps, use your feet to step up – those are clean fundamentals along with solid defence. All those ingredients are missing in this Indian side,” Tiwary said.All at sea
South Africa’s Simon Harmer (R) took 8/51 over both innings in the first Test against India at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. (AP)
Citing the dismissals of Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja in both innings, former India opener WV Raman questioned the indecisiveness of the Indian batsmen against Proteas off-spinner Simon Harmer.“It happens because the batsmen are not clear about their methods, whoever they are. When there is doubt whether to play my usual aggressive game or to defend for a certain period, two different strategies cannot be used at the same time,” Raman told TimesofIndia.com.“It has to be a clear plan. But I feel a bit of indecisiveness creeps into the thinking at times. It has nothing to do with the pitching. cTake Pant’s dismissal or even Jadeja’s dismissal in both innings. There is indecision – whether to play or not, whether to hit or defend. That is an expensive help. Indecision will cost.”“On a good track, you might run away. Sometimes when you are indecisive, you suddenly get restless. That happens in cricket. But if you are indecisive on such tracks, especially key players, it creates problems,” he said.Ashwin also emphasized the same point when talking about South African batsman Tristan Stubbs and how he showed indecisiveness in the second innings against Ravindra Jadeja.“Tristan Stubbs was playing one ball on the pitch and another ball in his mind. He was all at sea, he couldn’t pick the length. He was thinking about playing all types of shots,” Ashwin said.Play specialists
Washington Sundar was sent in to bat for India in the yet-to-be-fixed No.3 role in the first Test against South Africa. (AP)
Coach Gautam Gambhir has come under fire for his philosophy of selecting utility cricketers instead of specialists in Test cricket.Gambhir’s approach to team selection has generated as much debate as the pitch. Determined to apply his white-ball formula to the Tests, he relentlessly chopped and changed, turning the No.3 slot into musical chairs.Since taking over from Rahul Dravid, Gambhir has tried all of Shubman Gill, Devdutt Padikkal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Sai Sudharshan and now Washington Sundar in the role. But with a little patience on offer, none of them have had time to settle – and the results show.“The first thing we have to keep in mind is that if a pitch of a certain kind has been called for, then we have to pick an XI that is likely to do well on that surface. On a bowler-friendly track, you can’t add a lot of bowlers at the expense of batsmen,” Raman said.“Similarly, on a good track you’d probably need five bowlers, a varied attack to take wickets in case you don’t get runs. The problem is that we seem to have become more dependent on all-round cricketers.”“The unfortunate risk of being a coach is that his decisions, made on the basis of information at the start of the match, are judged only by the result. Such is the nature of the beast.”“What we have to look at is the combination that is being played. I think we will come back to that in the next Test and it will definitely involve a course correction,” explained Raman.Combination pitch or playing?
Ground staff spray water on the pitch before the first Test cricket match between India and South Africa at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. (PTI)
Ashwin called the pitch “bad” but said it made for compelling viewing.“It should always be less about the pitch and more about the skill. Test cricket is synonymous with life, you can’t expect ideal situations. It wasn’t a turner. It was a bad pitch,” he said.“The problem with a wicket like that is that the batsman (batsman) can’t trust the bounce or the pace. This was not a turner, just an underprepared pitch,” he said.Raman also questioned the playing combination and explained why utility cricketers are less impressive than specialist cricketers on such pitches.
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“Playing on turners also has a lot to do with the fact that specialists can extend their stay at the crease; they can extend their periods of focus and intensity. That’s why they are Test-match specialists. Multi-dimensional cricketers who are good in white-ball cricket may not be able to extend their effectiveness in Test cricket because they are only good for a certain period of time,” he said.“So if that particular phase, their best half-hour comes during a difficult period, they may not be able to perform because they are being tested. Once they reach saturation, the error follows. The Test batsman stays for another 20 minutes to see if he can take any good balls or scoring opportunities. That’s the difference.“I don’t understand why we are floundering at home when we are expected to do well. We have a very good squad, favorable conditions and strong bench strength. On bowler-friendly tracks, you can make a decent bowler into a very good one. On good tracks, your combinations, depth and talent can win you matches. We have a strong fast bowling attack now that can excel on good tracks too,” he concluded.
