South Africans are the happy lot
Partab Ramchand - 1 October 2001
The difference between playing at home and away is best illustrated by
India's record. For long now they have been considered as tigers at home
and lambs abroad. A telling example of this came about in the 1996-97
season.
On the hard and bouncy tracks, the tourists found it hard to combat the
menace of Allan Donald, Shaun Pollock, Brian McMillan and Lance
Klusener. And good bowlers as they undoubtedly were, Javagal Srinath and
Venkatesh Prasad could not extract the same pace, bounce and lift,
though they performed commendably to take 35 wickets between them.
|
After defeating South Africa in the Test series and then triumphing in
the Titan Cup one day series at home, a confident Indian team embarked
on their second tour of the Veldt within days after the completion of
the South African tour of this country. And the result was the reverse.
South Africa won the Test series 2-0 and defeated the Indians in the
final of the Standard Bank tri-series which had Zimbabwe as the third
team.
There were not many changes to the two sides that had clashed in India
earlier. The difference however lay in the conditions. On the hard and
bouncy tracks, the tourists found it hard to combat the menace of Allan
Donald, Shaun Pollock, Brian McMillan and Lance Klusener. And good
bowlers as they undoubtedly were, Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad
could not extract the same pace, bounce and lift, though they performed
commendably to take 35 wickets between them.
The support they received from newcomers Dodda Ganesh and David Johnson
though was woefully inadequate, while the overworked Kumble could not
recapture the form he had displayed four years before. Indeed Hansie
Cronje made a valid point after the first Test, played on a pitch on
which the bowlers reveled with short pitched deliveries which were
almost dangerous for the batsmen. "We have four fast bowlers, the
Indians have only two," he said summing up the situation succinctly.
Like Cronje and Woolmer in India a few months before, Tendulkar too
tried to lift the morale of his side by saying on the eve of the first
Test that the South Africans could be defeated. This however did nothing
for the morale of his teammates, for in a shocking double collapse,
India were shot out for 100 and 66 in the first Test at Durban.
Donald had been sent home from the Indian tour after the first Test so
that he could have some rest and recover in time to unleash his
thunderbolts against the Indians in more helpful conditions. He did not
disappoint taking five for 40 and four for 14. The four man pace attack
took 19 of the 20 Indian wickets with Srinath being run out in the
second innings. Rahul Dravid's 27 not out in the second innings was the
top score. The South Africans had led off with modest totals of 235 and
259 but so meek was the Indian surrender that the final margin of
victory was 328 runs. Prasad's medium pacers provided the one crumb of
comfort for the Indians and he finished with a match haul of ten for
153. Srinath supported him with five. Mention must also be made of Nayan
Mongia's eight catches behind the stumps.
Beaten in three days, the Indians moved to Cape Town but there was no
respite. A week after the first Test, South Africa had wrapped up the
series with a 282-run victory. Kirsten (103), Klusener (102 not out) and
McMillan (103 not out) had a whale of a time as the South Africans led
off with 529 for seven declared. The best part of the batting came about
when Klusener and McMillan shared an unbroken eighth wicket partnership
of 147 runs. India lost five wickets for 58 but then in a truly
breathtaking counter attack, Azharuddin (115) and Tendulkar (169) added
222 runs for the sixth wicket. The Indians succeeded in narrowing the
lead down to 170 but the South Africans methodically built upon it.
Declaring at 256 for six, the home team set the Indians a victory target
of 427.
The Indians could not repeat the heroics a second time and were shot out
for 144 with Donald, Adams and Pollock sharing the wickets.
The tourists, now playing to salvage their pride, very nearly pulled off
a surprise victory in the final Test at Johannesburg. Rahul Dravid's 148
was the cornerstone of the Indian first innings. With Sourav Ganguly
coming good with 73, the Indians posted a challenging total of 410.
After half the team were out for 147, Pollock (79) led a strong
rearguard action which saw South Africa reply with 321. Srinath finished
with five for 104.
Dravid (81) and Ganguly (60) once again starred as India, unexpectedly
finding themselves in the driver's seat, declared at 266 for eight. The
South Africans, requiring 356 runs for victory, crumbled against
Srinath, Prasad and Kumble. At 95 for seven, a remarkable Indian win
seemed around the corner. But the depth in the South African batting
paid off. Daryl Cullinan (122 not out) and Klusener (49) added 127 runs
for the eighth wicket and the home team managed to wriggle out,
finishing at 228 for eight. Rain and bad light which cut short play by
about 2-1/2 hours, also played a part in thwarting India's hope of a
consolation win.
© CricInfo