It all started with the India Tour of South Africa in 2021 and the cycle does not end with a victory. Instead, India Cricket Team finish 2023 with a crushing an innings and 32-run defeat in the SA vs IND 1st Test. As has been the case so far, Rohit Sharma-Rahul Dravid guided team looked timid and clueless for most of the Test. That India have not had a great display in Test like India had during the Virat Kohli-Ravi Shastri era is a cause for concern for BCCI.
In the only 10 Test matches away from home in Rohit Sharma-Rahul Dravid era, India have won 4, lost 5 and drawn 1. Of the four losses, three of them have come against South Africa, one against England and the other one was against Australia in the WTC Final this year.
SA vs IND: What went wrong?
To be fair on Rahul Dravid & Rohit Sharma, India haven’t had too many Tests abroad. And like the Ravi Shastri-Virat Kohli era, India surrendered to the South African challenge. But it’s the manner of defeat.
Ravi Shastri breached the Gabba fortress against a strong Australian side with net bowlers, to put it bluntly. But on a pitch where Indian batters could only last 101.5 overs and two innings combined, their bowlers looked clueless in SA vs IND 1st Test. Dean Elgar, who seems to be India’s Final Frontier, scored 185 while another bowler Marco Jansen hit an unbeaten 84.
And as it seemed, India bowled with three bowlers and two part-timers in Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur. The two bagged two wickets conceding 194 runs in 39 overs. Ravichandran Ashwin did the restricting part well but with no assistance from the pitch, he too was toothless in SA vs IND 1st Test.
Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj did most of the things right but with no “third seamer”, they only accounted for 6 wickets for 160 runs. That’s where the match was lost. But the batters should take the blame as well.
To put it square and fair, only two batters lifted their hands against a seasoned Kagiso Rabada breathing fire, a debutant and two Test rookies. KL Rahul did the job in the first innings to save India’s face. Virat Kohli fought a valiant battle but in vain. Barring those two knocks of 101 and 76, India Cricket Team surrendered to the Protean pace attack.
What can Rohit-Dravid learn from Kohli-Shastri?
On Day 2 when things seemed to be going away from India’s hands, Virat Kohli became the leader. As Rohit Sharma was attending to a minor injury, Kohli gave the pep talk to the team and post-tea and India had a short relief with two quick wickets. But then, India missed the Test leader Virat Kohli.
Where did Rohit Sharma go wrong in his decisions? There were plenty of instances.
With the ball becoming old, Rohit only utilised Ashwin for 12 overs. By then, Shardul had already bowled 14 overs and Prasidh Krishna bowled 18 overs. They went for 171 runs combined in the SA vs IND 1st Test.
And with the new ball, there was another strange decision. Bumrah and Siraj bowled only 7 overs with the new ball with Shardul replacing Bumrah after only four overs. Siraj too made way for Ashwin. While Shardul did eventually get the breakthrough, the score read 360/6.
Unlike Virat Kohli, a laid-back Rohit Sharma never created any pressure on Dean Elgar as he kept scoring runs. There was never a moment to rile the Proteas up and force them to make a mistake. It was all in the holiday spirit. What India lacked was Virat Kohli’s aggression on the field and some bold decision-making by Ravi Shastri off the field.
That’s how India had almost won in England, twice in Australia and a Test in South Africa. India now head to Cape Town, where they never won a Test and it can’t be played in same holiday spirits.
