India lose to SA at Hyderabad opener

By ICF Staff
November 16 2005

South Africa have defeated India in the opener of their 5-ODI series at Hyderabad, and India despite rallying after a collapse have cause for worry.

With just one match against a weak side under the belt after travelling halfway across the world, the Saffies could have been forgiven for dropping the opening match against an Indian team seemingly in great form.

But after skipper Rahul Dravid lost the toss and admitted that he would have bowled first, it seemed the Indian top order were running scared. Virender Sehwag departed first ball to a careless stroke and Mohammad Kaif was given LBW by umpire Hariharan to a ball that jagged in. Sachin Tendulkar would be aggrieved after being given out by Hariharan who eventually raised his finger to give him caught-behind when there was no contact between bat and ball, and the wicketkeeper Mark Boucher did not appeal except to join Shaun Pollock's concerted act after a visible pause.

Whether or not Hariharan was acting in his own interest of joining the elite panel with a supposed show of neutrality, that landed India in dire straits at 5/3.

Rahul Dravid was bowled by a straight ball that slipped between bat and pad in Andre Nel's over, and Indian team management stunned everyone by bringing in supersub Gautam Gambhir at the expense of the second specialist spinner Murali Kartik.

The decision, presumably by Greg Chappell, cannot be criticized enough. For one thing, Gambhir had earlier been discarded after a successful opening innings, and for another Mahendra Dhoni had proven that he was worthy of promotion when he had salvaged a similar situation only two weeks back with his near double ton at number 3.

Experimentation for the sake of experimentation will be the undoing of this side. After the successful "experiment" of promoting Dhoni, he should have been given a chance to play savior. Nor should inexperienced (in ODIs) Gambhir have been slotted in at an unfamiliar position. Finally, dropping Kartik against a side that is weak against spin was baffling.

Gambhir duly departed for 1, leaving India tottering at 35/5 and it was left to bowler Irfan Pathan to support Yuvraj Singh, which he did magnificently, thereby giving a lesson to the top order. Yuvraj's 103 was an innings of the highest caliber but without Pathan's supporting 46 it wouldn't have been possible, and without Harbhajan's explosive cameo of 37 at the bottom, India could not have posted a competitive 249 after 35/5. Yuvraj deservedly won the Man of Match award despite India's loss.

Ajit Agarkar bowled well to grab the first couple of wickets, and with Smith bowled by RP Singh, SA were left at 76/3 and India looking capable of taking the match. Harbhajan Singh once again bowled economically but had only the wicket of Prince to show for his efforts.

Baffling handling of the bowling by Dravid dealt the final blow to India's chances. At a time when only 4 specialist bowlers were available, RP Singh had bowled admirably for an economical 1/18 off 7 overs, and Irfan Pathan had a full 4 overs left, Dravid chose to bowl expensive and wicketless part-timer Yuvraj in the death overs instead of his specialist bowlers. SA won with one over to spare, and fans were left scratching their heads over the strategy. Surely if Kartik had to be dropped, the 4 remaining bowlers should have been fully utilized.

Andre Nel's over-the-top behavior will hopefully be penalized by referee Crowe. Mouthing abuse constantly at more than one batsman, bowling a beamer at Yuvraj after he got to his century with a six and a four, and ignoring umpire Hariharan who was telling him to stay away from the middle of the pitch in his follow-through (he was eventually called for it) were a few of the disgraceful actions on display from this player, and he cannot be allowed to get away with it.

Gains from the Lanka win have been partially erased by this game, and the Saffies are to be complemented for their professional display in the opener. It is unclear that toss played a major role, or at least as major a role as it will play in the remaining 4 games of this series which are all day-nighters.