South Africa vs India 2013-14: After a pleasant Jo'Burg, Durban is all set to get nastier!

End of Jo’Burg Test – Too nice?

There are good Test matches, great Test matches and then there are the epic ones. The first Test match between India and South Africa could have slotted itself in the epic category but fell short by eight runs and three wickets.

However, there’s no denying that it was one of the most keenly fought Test matches in the history of the game and a draw, at the end, was a fair result for both sides.

Saying that, both teams were in with a chance, surprisingly, and both MS Dhoni and Graeme Smith would sit back and twitch their noses to think – “yeah, we should have pulled it off!” - as they make their make their way towards Durban. But then again, both captains would breathe a sigh of relief that they held on to a draw from a point sure defeat.

But which team lost more? Which team reeled in the brownie points and which captain would stride out with more confidence when flipping the coin in Durban?

South Africa

Did they choke again?

They are the number one side in the Test format and boy, didn’t they prove their point. After having a good first day and a solid first session on Day 2, they completely lost it in the next three to follow. They bowled out India for a manageable first innings total but then faltered badly with the bat, especially after being 130/1 at one stage.

No doubt the Indian bowlers bowled well and hit the right areas on the pitch, but the South Africans would be disappointed with the shots a few of their batsmen played. Hashim Amla misjudged the line. Jacques Kallis and Alviro Petersen played across the line and JP Duminy hung out his bat to dry.

From then on, they were always behind the eighth ball. India slammed the door shut on the Proteas by a resolute display of batting.

Yes, the Morne Morkel incident did hamper their plans but one expected a little more potency from the best bowling attack in the world. The Indians batted brilliantly but the Proteas’ bowling unit lacked penetration and the likes of Imran Tahir and Jacques Kallis handed freebies to Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara to make matters worse for them.

However, they bounced back into the game on Day 5. In a display of immense discipline and determination, they almost snatched a victory. Petersen and Smith gave a good start and then the “du-de” partnership served up a repeat telecast of Adelaide 2012. They batted with conviction, looked rock solid and almost achieved the improbable.

AB de Villiers showed why he is the best batsmen in the world across all formats and Faf du Plessis, who struggled and scratched around in the first innings, played one of the best innings of his life.

Then again, did South Africa choke during the crunch moment?

With 16 runs to get from 20 balls, it would seem so. Till the time victory seemed improbable, the pair batted beautifully, but just as the target seemed achievable, the nerves jangled and the wickets tumbled. AB de Villiers played a dicey shot, JP Duminy looked all at sea while Faf du Plessis made a suicidal move by going for an impossible run.

Vernon Philander shut shop and Dale Steyn showed no intention until the last three deliveries of the game. Their sudden change in approach surprised the crowd, the viewers on TV and even Virat Kohli,

“Everyone was pretty shocked honestly.We didn’t think that they would stop going for the score because with eight runs an over and with Philander striking the ball pretty well – and he can bat, we have seen that in the past – I don’t know what happened.”

Although Graeme Smith defended his side’s “safety first” approach, one would have expected the number one side to go for the jugular and take that extra risk to win at game, especially at home.

Then again, for Smith, the stakes were higher and the number one status would have met with a minor jolt had they lost at home, on a lively track, to a team that’s down with a 0-8 scoreline in away Test results.

India

Surely a missed opportunity!

Win the toss, elect to bat, put up a solid first innings score, bowl brilliantly to take the lead, bat outstandingly in the 2nd innings and then bowl decently in the 2nd essay – India rarely put a step wrong in this Test match.

Not many gave them a chance against South Africa in the Test, especially after the ODI debacle, but the young team bit the bullet and stood firm to stake their claim as the next best Test team to South Africa. The batsmen showed character and the bowler elevated their game to the next level.

It was a brave decision from MS Dhoni to bat first. The Indian batsmen accepted the captain’s challenge, fought toe-to-toe with South Africa and seized the initiative. The much hyped batting line up stepped up, delivered and surprisingly, even the bowling came good.

Mohammed Shami was consistent, Zaheer Khan made an impressive come back but Ishant Sharma ran in hard and answered all his critics back with a sparkling performance.

However, it all went a touch pear-shaped in the last day. India went into the ultra-offensive mode, leaked too many runs and handed South Africa a way back into the Test but even if South Africa would have won the game, no one could have blamed the Indian bowling. They were really good as they worked up a lot of steam, hit the correct lengths, induced the edges and got the breakthroughs.

But then again, you expect a side to win a game when the opposition is chasing 450 plus on a last day pitch. True, they tried their best and the edges either fell short or flew off to the boundary, yet the final push went missing.

Did Dhoni miss a trick by giving Zaheer a longer spell? Why did Shami take such a long break? Should India have been more adventurous with their field placings? – Questions that will haunt MS Dhoni if India fails to put up a similar show in Durban.

Graeme Smith too rubbed it in,

“I’d be surprised if MS didn’t feel that his bowlers should have won the game for them. I would certainly as a captain – 450-460 on the board, 132 [136] overs…”

All in all, it was an edge-of-the-seat entertainer but the end was a complete anti-climax to such a thrilling game. Both teams could have won but they blew their chances. They failed to pounce on their prey because they were too nice to each other and so, what promised to be a heavyweight clash, ended being a sparring bout and the first round ended as a lose -lose situation rather than a win-win for both sides.

A fair result they said but so are split decisions but have you ever seen two heavyweights be happy with them? Get ready Durban for the Boxing Day, the second round is bound to get nastier!