South Africa may have bundled out India for 201 on the opening day of the first cricket Test, but wrecker-in-chief Dean Elgar on Thursday criticised the turf and said it is a bad cricketing wicket even if it is result-oriented.
India might have wasted the advantage of winning the toss after being bundled out for a paltry 201 against South Africa but batting coach Sanjay Bangar feels the hosts’ first innings total is “much bigger” than it looks on a slow and low pitch.
Elgar, who took four wickets to stop the hosts from taking away the advantage after electing to bat, also stood firm with skipper Hashim Amla when stumps were drawn on the opening day.
The Proteas were 28 for two, trailing India by 173 runs and Elgar believes the match can spin either way.
‘Not a good cricket wicket’
“I don’t think it’s a very good cricket wicket. It is my personal opinion. It is a result wicket which is expected when you come here. But Kudos to India, they are obviously going to prepare wickets like these against us, I’m sure. And we know coming here, it was going to be very different from what we are used to. So it’s not a very good cricket wicket but it is a result wicket which can go either way,” said a blunt Elgar after the end of the day’s play.
Elgar, who turned an unlikely hero with impressive figures of 4 for 22, conceded that he was surprised by his own performance.
“I’m a little bit surprised with the outcome. Taking four wickets obviously and batting decently. I’ve always had the ability to bowl. I’m not only a batter. But yeah it was nice to contribute and it’s a wicket that is assisting the spinners a little bit and it was nice to obviously bowl India out with the other four bowlers and put them on the backfoot,” he said.
Elgar (13 not out) and Amla (9 not out) did the grinding bit in a tense final half—hour of play against the Indian spinners and the South African opener said it is going to be tough for a batsmen on this pitch.
“It wasn’t easy. We sort of expected it to play like that but we didn’t expect it to crumble as what it has already. It was hard graft. It was right up there with the hardest ever Test cricket I’ve had. It was hard work and we can see that the Indians are used to putting the opposition under pressure when their tails are up. Let’s hope that it can backfire and turn out to be a great victory for you,” he said.
Elgar agrees with Bangar
Elgar also agreed with Indian batting coach Sanjay Bangar’s perception that on this surface the total put up by the home team was bigger than what it actually looks.
“I would say that. It is just because of the nature of the wicket. The outfield is another thing. It is fast but it is difficult to generate pace on the ball while batting and its definitely going to be a challenge for us. It’s going to be a hard graft. We knew that. We knew that coming to India will be a challenge in its own right. Now we have to find a way and graft and sweat it out,” he said.
Elgar said the way forward is to be positive in one’s mindset.
“The way forward is to be positive. Tonight we obviously had to go into our shells and fight a bit. It’s generally not the way we play our cricket. To try and lose as few wickets as possible. So that we can set up our day 2,” he opined.
The left-hander though smiled back after being asked about feeling tired post a hard day’s work and said, “No I’m fresh. Fresh as a daisy (laughs). It obviously takes a toll on you. I was out there for 90 overs which is quite taxing most days. Luckily its not so hot here in Mohali, which we are thankful for. But physically, I’m okay. It is just the day one and you got to kick on and rest well tonight.”
‘Test in balance’
Bangar insisted that the first Test match is very much in the balance after the home spinners sent two visiting team batsmen back in the pavillion at close of opening day’s play with South Africa scorecard reading 28 for two.
Asked about India letting go of the advantage, Bangar said: “To an extent yes, but we have got their two wickets already, so after 20 overs if they are 28 for 2, it just proves the point that the worth of 201 on the board is far more that what it looks.
“It is a very challenging wicket. I am not saying it is a good wicket or a bad wicket, but it is a very challenging wicket, wherein run-making is not easy.
“Competitive cricket is where a batsman and a bowler have equal opportunities. I think bowlers have to got a chance. Bowlers do have an upper hand on this track, and batsmen have to cope with that,” he said at the end of the first day’s play here.
Murali Vijay top-scored with a valiant 75, while useful contributions came from Ravindra Jadeja (38), Cheteshwar Pujara (31) and Ravichandran Ashwin (20 not out), and Bangar said application was key on this track.
“I think runs can be made on this wicket as Vijay showed. When Pujara and Vijay were batting, or even Ajinkya (Rahane) and Vijay, it looked quite easy. A batsman’s patience will be tested to the core, and even the bowlers will have to work hard on this wicket. It is slightly slow after pitching. It doesn’t come on to the bat. It is going to be a test of the patience both for batsmen and the bowlers,” he said.
“When an Indian team goes overseas, you cannot say that the extent of seam movement, or the extent of movement in the air, there should be a fixed criteria. Okay if it swings this much or if it seams this much then only they are the ideal conditions.
“The extent of spin, seam or swing is something which cannot be fixed or measured. It is a challenge for all the batsmen. Equally taking wickets or scoring runs on such tracks is an art. Players will have to apply all their skills,” Bangar explained.
Lack of application from Indian batsmen
The lack of application though was evident in the Indian innings as the left-arm spinner Dean Elgar (4/22) made the home team batsmen commit errors on his flighted deliveries and Bangar admitted that his batters were at fault.
“I think yes, batsmen do commit errors and it is our job to make them aware of it. I am pretty sure that once they come back and bat for the second dig, they will come over it.”
The former India international praised the South African spinners Elgar, Simon Harmer and Imran Tahir (2/23).
“I think they looked a pack and they bowled to a certain plan. They were able to extract spin from the wicket. I think they looked quite good.”
Certainly not surprised by Elgar’s opening-day exploits, Bangar said: “The thing is he was willing to throw the ball up in the air for a longer period above the eyeline of the batsmen and that was actually good spin bowling wherein he created certain angles and that probably forced our batsmen to commit some mistakes.”
Asked if India Test skipper Virat Kohli getting out for just one on his birthday was too disappointing for him, Bangar said: “No I think for a cricketer like Virat...he takes immense pride in representing the country and every day he steps on to the field, he tries and gives his utmost. His intensity is very high.
“I don’t think he has treated this day as any different from any other day wherein he would step on to the field wearing an India cap.”
On current generation of batsmen being better against pacers than spinners, Bangar said, “No, I don’t think so.
“Current day batsmen are taking far more risks against spinners, as against fast bowlers. The rate at which they score, their strike-rates, seem to be increasing and with that at times, they do make mistakes but then it is a very thin line between success and failure.
“The lesser shots you play, the lesser the chances of an error but all the batsmen do practice a lot many shots. They want to target each and every angle that is available for run—scoring. You could see that the more shots they play, the chances of errors also increase. But that’s what makes cricket most exciting in these times wherein some of the shots that the batsmen today play, they leave you in a bit of an awe,” he added.
