A heart-stopping last-gasp win in the cauldron at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium notwithstanding, the Indians have serious work ahead of World Cup 2011.
On a dramatic Sunday here, the Indians almost snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. A humdinger made wonderful viewing but left the Indian supporters a worried lot. Bowling at the death has been a major area of concern for the host.
“With so many runs remaining to be scored by the South African tail, our leading bowlers should have done better,” skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni admitted.
Indeed, some ordinary bowling by S. Sreesanth and Asish Nehra was dumped into the far corners of the ground by Wayne Parnell and Dale Steyn during their blazing 65-run ninth-wicket stand.
Where were the swinging toe-crushers? Yorkers of pace and precision are invaluable against the lower-order batsmen but Sreesanth and Nehra were largely off target.
In other words, Parnell and Steyn were provided the width and the length to free their arms.
While the mandatory change of the ball after the 34th over has hurt reverse swing bowling in particular - the harder ball also travels faster off the bat – control, old-fashioned block-hole bowling and variations in speed can still do the damage.
Perhaps, the Indians missed the under-rated off-spin of Virender Sehwag towards the end. The influential cricket has a sore back and could be a doubtful starter for the second ODI at Gwalior on Wednesday.
The Indians pacemen, as Dhoni pointed out, went for runs with the new ball as well. On the sub-continental tracks, it is vital to bowl in the right areas, make the most of the conditions.
Praveen Kumar did vary his speed and length in the final over but then he is a limited bowler. His lack of pace will always be held against him.
The short-pitched ball, if employed judiciously, can be a wicket-taking delivery even on the Indian tracks. Jacques Kallis and Charl Langeveldt, essentially swing bowlers, showed that the short-pitched ball can either set up a dismissal or fetch wickets.
India missed the injured Zaheer Khan's craft and heart. Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja's bowling was a positive for India though. Making light of the dew factor, he spun the ball away from the right-hander and delivered a deceptive arm-ball. The lad bowled with control and has a future.
Jadeja choked the flow of runs in the middle overs and foxed and consumed Abraham de Villiers, a fine player of spin, with a telling arm-ball.
Dhoni, perhaps, could retain at least a couple of overs from a frontline spinner at the death. Instead, part-timer Suresh Raina bowled in the end overs and this was a phase where Steyn and Parnell began a dramatic revival. Against a top side such as South Africa, India cannot afford to take its foot off the pedal.
Another area of worry for India was the failure of the frontline batsmen to convert starts. “None of our batsmen went on to a bigger score,” said Dhoni. In a total of 298, Suresh Raina's 58 was the highest contribution.
The South Africans, on their part, were gracious in defeat. Skipper Kallis chose not to focus on Sachin Tendulkar's controversial save on the fine-leg fence in the final over. The batsmen ran three but there were doubts whether Langveldt's pull was actually a boundary. “It's the umpire's call,” said a sporting Kallis. The extra run could have enabled South Africa tie the match.
Kallis, instead, spoke about the freakish boundary when Nehra edged Langveldt to his stumps but the ball, without disturbing the bails, darted to the fence. “That came back to haunt us,” he said.
Apart from the ageless Tendulkar sprawling effort, diving stops from Dinesh Karthik and substitute Abhishek Nayar might have saved India's day.
Left-arm paceman Parnell's bowling is a work-in-progress but Kallis was convinced that the young South African could develop into an all-rounder.
The South Africans erred with their selection though. The in-form Hashim Amla, who mixes resilience with flair, should have walked into the eleven. Had Kallis, stroking the ball majestically, found specialist support at the other end, the South Africans might have clinched the opener.
And the visitors should have preferred left-arm spinner van der Merwe over the unimpressive Johan Botha. The focus now shifts to Gwalior. Is another thriller on the cards?
