After suffering a defeat by an innings and 32 runs against South Africa in the Centurion Test, India bounced back in style by registering the fastest win in the history of the five-day format at Cape Town to level the two-match series 1-1. At the SuperSport Park, Indian batting failed to tackle and seaming and swinging conditions. At Newlands, India were the better side in all departments on a horrific pitch that offered uneven bounce from the start leading to the match getting over in just 642 balls (107 overs), the shortest duration for a Test.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra was hugely impressed with India’s seven-wicket win at Cape Town. He added that Team India is never interested in complaining about tough conditions, instead such challenging scenarios always bring out the best in the team.
“When a Test match lasts one-and-a-half days, there are some fallouts. There has been some talk surrounding the pitch. Some questions have been asked. India have never complained about the quality of the pitches on offer. Last time, the Wanderers pitch was really bad,” he said on JioCinema.
“Honestly, some player could have got hurt on it. This pitch at Cape Town, too, was bad. India still focused on the game and didn’t complain. I remember that pitch at Perth (Australia) too. And it was really bad. You can’t justify a pitch where a ball takes off from good length and goes past the keeper’s head. Even there, India didn’t say anything. They just competed and showed fighting spirit. In fact, when the pitch is bad, it somehow brings the best out of the Indian team. I feel neither pitches like these nor the dust bowls in India are good for the game. It’s just not right for a game of cricket.”
Jasprit Bumrah was star player for India in the series as he took 12 wickets to be declared the joint winner of the Player of the Series ward. Chopra explained the reasons behind Bumrah being so good consistently for India and labelled him a “national asset.”
There are multiple reasons why Bumrah bowls so well. The first one is his unique action. He does not have a slingy action like Lasith Malinga. He does not have an action like Paul Adams’ frog-in-the-blender. Unlike Sohail Tanveer, he does not bowl on the wrong foot. So, what’s different? There’s a point in his action when both his hands are in front of his chest. A batsman’s mind is generally not trained for an action like this. They are accustomed to facing bowlers whose hands move like a wheel: when one hand is coming up, the other is going down. That’s something batsmen find difficult to deal with as they have to make decisions within a fraction of a second.
The other thing about his action is he braces his foot very well. That helps him achieve the maximum height as possible while bowling. Other bowlers bend their leg slightly before release. That takes some pace off the ball. But Bumrah braces his knee so well that he’s able to generate extra pace. His point of release is so late that he gets an advantage. That apart, he’s quick and has got that zip. That’s why he’s a national asset.
Chopra also felt that Prasidh Krishna who made his Test debut in the series “missed the bus” by failing to impress during the series. The pacer only took two wickets in the two matches and struggled with his line and length.
“I feel it’s a missed opportunity for him. That’s because pace bowlers like him get very few chances to bowl on a pitch like this. India last played a Test series in the West Indies and will face England next at home. He had the opportunity to establish himself as a fast bowler on this tour. But I think he has missed the bus. He looked under-cooked and is still a work-in-progress,” he added.
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