Mumbai: Mahendra Singh Dhoni took the blame initially, then, he changed the script in Indore. The critics were quiet for a bit. But here at the Wankhede Stadium in the decider, AB de Villiers proved why he is the superman (South Africa won the ODI series 3-2, T20 series 2-0).
In order to bounce back in the Test series, Team India should pull up their socks. Here are the five things they may consider applying to their game.
Bowlers and bowling: The ultra aggressive approach in the tour of Sri Lanka saw Ishant Sharma lose out on the first Test against the tourists. Hence, the much added sheen will only be there from the second fixture.
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Though Bhuvneshwar Kumar is known as the swing boy among the crop, of late, it has only been the Proteas batsmen who took him for a swing. The bowling combination should be carefully picked, keeping in mind that South Africa had it easy in the limited overs with the ones they faced. With Virat Kohli being the skipper in Tests, there is a chance of Varun Aaron – the pace battery – fitting the bill. That could be an interesting move.
Defensive mindset: Team India waited for South Africa to make a mistake throughout the series, it seemed that they felt intimidated by the big names that also included Hashim Amla, JP Duminy and Faf du Plessis.
India’s mantra should be to attack from the onset. Though South Africa have the ‘chokers’ tag but it seemed the hosts took it for granted.
Blaming curators: After the final ODI – where South Africa scored 438 – Team Director Ravi Shastri had a spat with curator Sudhir Naik.
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Naik, also a former Test cricketer, complained against Shastri to Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA). Shastri allegedly abused the 70-year-old after blaming him for the wicket. It is time that the cricketers, support staff accept that it is good cricket that matters, and the pitch is not to be blamed if the bowlers cannot contain the world-class batters.
