The Unrevealing Fortnight

It has been a good fortnight of cricket. Scintillating test cricket in the northern hemisphere, display of authority from a top class side in the south. For about three days in what one could call the Valentine's day Test, Pakistan looked like they had the upper hand, courtesy the partnership between Younis Khan and Asad Shafiq. It was very uncharacteristic of Pakistan to show such grit and determination, putting up such a big partnership after having been 33-4 on the first morning. Pakistan further dominated with the ball showing signs of making a strong comeback in the series. South Africa were still a worrisome 174 behind Pakistan when Peterson walked in with just four wickets in hand. But, there is just something about top sides as South Africa are currently, that they are always there or thereabouts even when the opposition is on top, waiting to seize on any opportunity presented and that's what they did, not just in this test in Cape Town, but in Adelaide last year as well. Putting that extra effort and pulling the team together when times are tough is what defines a top class side. For most opposition teams, the time to dread against a top class side is not when they have done well with ease, but when they have done well in tough situations for that is when the team derives that extra confidence and puts everything into the destruction of the opposition. That is what came next for Pakistan as they stood by and watched South Africa take back the semblance of advantage Pakistan had created for themselves, taking this test and the next one with a display of authority. Pakistan always seem to show that they can compete, but a lot like the other Asian sides, seem to run out of steam when it's most needed. I was looking for much more from this series, ended up being a huge disappointment.

Test cricket, as they say, is really addictive. A little more than a 2 month break after the English not so much destroyed the Indians at their home ground, but persevered to get the better off the Indians in the test arena, the usual promotion for the much awaited "Real" Test had started. Promoters could use anything to sell cricket in India, even the single test that India won on an away tour to Australia consisting of four test matches, five years ago and we Indians would buy it, thronging at the grounds hoping for a memorable century from Sachin. This time though, it seemed like Sachin would really give the crowds what they wanted after having been in exceptional touch at the Irani Trophy. His feet were moving well, he got to the pitch of the ball against Harbhajan and got the most adored inside-out drive through extra cover working so well for him. But, it still seemed like India wouldn't do that well against the Aussies under Michael Clarke because of the way he led the side and also how the Aussie pacemen persisted around that outside the off stump line. If one had really observed the Indian dismissals against England, it wouldn't be hard to imagine Sehwag, Vijay, Kohli, Jadeja and Dhoni getting out to drives while reaching for it. The only two things that the Aussies lacked were experience and a good spin bowling option which didn't look like it would bother them much because the Indians were in such poor form and defeated at their own art by the English. The crowd at the Chidambaram stadium in Chennai which was to witness the much awaited "Real" Test, was not as quite mature or well mannered as it is made out to be on TV, rushing in through a tiny gate creating a bit of panic at the entrance, all for a five minute advantage over the others. All settled in the stands, Sachin looked in great touch as it was expected after the Irani Trophy performance. But, to my amazement, Kohli was able to kick that habit of reaching out for wide balls and made a century. The biggest turning point of the match, much to everyone's amazement came when Dhoni smashed a double century in just 5 hours. From then on, it was just a formality as Australia handed out the match to India on the fifth morning. The second test has not even reached the middle stages and it looks like India are going to dominate this one too. Clarke stands alone, fighting it out as he finds no one to support him and it looks like he too will run out of steam very soon unless someone brings out an Aussie-like performance.

Thoughts that South Africa would be tested by Pakistan have been completely annihilated. Thoughts that the India-Australia series would produce exciting test cricket too have been rendered  pointless as India have dominated the early part of the series. Although this fortnight has revealed that South Africa have what it takes to have an extended period at the top of the Test table, it doesn't quite establish that India are a quality side. It is good to see them perform on home grounds, but the real test will come when the Indian batsmen are tested on South African soil. It's been quite an unrevealing fortnight as expectations have deceived the viewer and the little bit that it has revealed doesn't get tested since neither of these four teams play a test in the next four months.