Indians should not drop their guard by Partab Ramchand

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Event:

India in South Africa 2006/07

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DateLine: 26th December 2006

 

A 1-0 lead in a three Test series is pretty handy. All the pressure is on the losing team that has to win both the remaining matches to take the series. The winning team on the other hand can play the waiting game and adopt a let’s wait and see what happens approach. Why then are some Indian cricket followers still skeptical about the ability of the team to win the series in South Africa?

 

Perhaps they can’t be blamed. The win at the Wanderers was the first in ten Tests in South Africa spread over four tours. Maybe they have yet to come to terms with the near miracle that was achieved. To them it is still too good to be true. More importantly however is the irritating habit of the Indians to go ahead and then squander the lead with a lacklustre showing in the following game. It has happened too often and too recently for Indian cricket fans to forget and forgive. In 2001 India won the second Test in Sri Lanka to level the series only to promptly go down in the next match. The following year in the West Indies India took a 1-0 lead in the five-match contest only to lose the next Test and the series by two matches to one. In 2003 in Australia India went ahead by winning the second Test at Adelaide only for the Aussies to level matters by emerging triumphant in the next match at Melbourne. In 2004 India won the first Test in Pakistan only to be beaten in the following game.

 

So is the scenario going to be repeated at Durban over the last few days of 2006? For starters it is difficult to believe that South Africa will bat and bowl as badly as they did in Johannesburg. For all the positive aspects of the notable triumph that certainly was one reason behind the Indian victory. Sure the South African side has weaknesses – a top order woefully short of runs, a rather one dimensional bowling line up – but it is difficult to see them crumbling for a second Test in a row. The Indians can’t afford to rest on their laurels for they will be up against a home side smarting from the unexpected defeat. As Graeme Smith has said their performance at home is always something that they pride themselves on so under performing is always going to create some pressure. ``The public is quite demanding which shows that they care. They want results’’ said the South African captain. They will come out from their corner ready for a slugfest and the Indians would do well not to drop their guard at any time. Having won the battle they should now strive to win the war

 

The Indians’ record at Kingsmead is however not something they can draw inspiration from. A rain affected Test was drawn in 1992 but four years later India suffered their worst defeat in many years. Going down by 328 runs was bad enough but being bowled out for totals of 100 and 66 was worse. Losing 20 wickets while putting together an aggregate of 166 runs had not happened since the dark days of Old Trafford in 1952 when the Indians were bowled out twice in a day for 58 and 82. The Indians can take little comfort from this and Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly who were part of that batting line up must be having nightmarish memories. Conversely a look at that scorecard is what the South Africans will probably do to boost their morale. Also the fact that with except for Australia and England no team has won a Test series in South Africa since their return to international cricket 15 years ago should be a source of some comfort to the beleaguered home side.

(Article: Copyright © 2006 CricketArchive)