The Proteas have defeated India by 135 runs in the second Test of the three-match series at Supersport Park in Centurion. With this win, the hosts have won the series and have eventually completed the revenge of their 2015 tour when India had blanked them by 3-0 in the four-match rubber.
The bowlers bowled their hearts out, but the batsmen failed to show a spine except for Virat Kohli’s first innings 150. In the two Test matches in South Africa, his decision to drop Ajinkya Rahane for Rohit Sharma raised a few eyebrows. Kohli maintained that Sharma had been selected on the basis of his “current form” which means that it was based on his performance against Sri Lanka at home.
India made three changes going into the second Test, bringing in KL Rahul, Parthiv, and Ishant in place of the in-form Bhuvi, an injured Saha, and Dhawan. This made became the cynosure of cricket pundits and veterans players after gambling with the playing XI for the important Centurion encounter against South Africa.
Twitterati has also questioned why the BCCI was adamant about playing continuous series against Sri Lanka when the team needed more practice time to prepare for the Proteas challenge.
The under-fire Indian Test team today got the backing of former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who said there are quite a few positives to pick despite the drubbing handed out by South Africa, the prominent one being the bowlers’ performance.
“I would say look at the positives. To win a Test match, you need to take 20 wickets, we have taken 20 wickets. If you can’t take 20 wickets, the next option is to draw a Test match. How you can draw a Test match is by giving fewer runs and by scoring runs. The third option is there is no option because you are always looking for a win,” Dhoni said while speaking at the sidelines of an event.
Dhoni said the fact that Indian bowlers are taking 20 wickets in a match is a sign that the side is never too far from a win. “If you are not able to get 20 wickets, you can’t win a Test match irrespective of whether you are playing in India or you are playing outside. But that is the big positive. We are taking 20 wickets,” he said.
The Ranchi lad, who led the Chennai Super Kings in the first eight editions of the IPL before it was suspended in the wake of the 2013 spot-fixing scam, said he was happy to be back at the franchise. “I never thought of playing for any other franchise other than CSK. Chennai is my second home. Fans here have adopted me as one of their own,” Dhoni said.
“A lot of people approached me, I can tell you that. But I can’t think of not coming back to CSK. What we have been through, how we have conducted ourselves, how the management has been. How the fans have been. This is a special place. So that thought of being in any other franchise was never a question,” he added.
Virat Kohli’s world no.1 India is trailing 0-2 in the three-match series after heavy losses in Cape Town and Centurion. The third and final Test is scheduled to be held in Johannesburg from January 24.
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