Bloemfontein Test, Day 1, Tea
Saturday, November 3, 2001

It's one of the most exhilarating days of Test cricket I have seen in a long time, and India have pulled themselves out of deep trouble on the opening day.

Sachin Tendulkar showed why he is a genius – he changed his foot movement drastically from what he was doing in the one-dayers. Then he took a big step forward to come onto the front foot and hit through the line, while today he got onto the back foot after a slight forward movement. Now this is easier said than done – a lot of batsmen take a lifetime trying to make these adjustments.

One of the reasons why we saw Tendulkar playing so many shots square on the off side was because he had decided early on that, against this attack, he was going to stay on the back foot and play late rather than go for shots in front of the wicket. And because Makhaya Ntini and Nantie Hayward are inexperienced, hit-the-deck-type bowlers, it just worked perfectly. If South Africa are unable to play quality bowlers to support Shaun Pollock in the series ahead, Tendulkar will plunder this attack.

The gamble to play Virender Sehwag has paid off for India. He does not have a good defence outside the off stump, but because he does not get behind the line he misses the good balls by a long way. The good thing about him is that when a loose ball comes along, his natural striking ability does not get affected. He looks very good at picking the gaps and it's heartening to see him value his wicket. He is a battler.

The wicket improved a lot in the second session, and VVS Laxman will be cursing himself in the dressing-room for missing out on a big score. He looked very good, especially while playing on the up. We can expect much from him on this tour, which is something you cannot say for SS Das and Sourav Ganguly, who were both found wanting.

I cannot understand why Rahul Dravid has a problem opening the innings. He has the necessary technique to do justice to the role. If he continues to show reluctance, then the team management should put him down as a player who is unwilling to show the right commitment for the side's cause.

Sanjay Manjrekar, mainstay of the Indian batting in the late 1980s and early '90s, was talking to H Natarajan. His column will appear on Wisden.com at the end of every session during this series.

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