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#IndVsSA: Kohli's five-batsmen-bowler theory looks fine

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S Kannan
S KannanNov 08, 2015 | 09:55

#IndVsSA: Kohli's five-batsmen-bowler theory looks fine

For over a month, South African cricketers felt "at home".

Winning the T20 and ODI series, they were on a high, comfortable with the results and the way they enjoyed the travel in early winter.

"Welcome to Mohali," curator Daljeet Singh seemed to say to the Proteas as he produced a classic pitch which brought out the nuances of what it is like to bat on a track that assists spinners.

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Having won the first Test by a handsome margin on Saturday, skipper Virat Kohli has every reason to believe the momentum has finally swung India's way.

From day one, there was criticism for the curator but as magician R Ashwin pointed out after the second day, there was nothing wrong with the wicket. His argument stems from the fact that when India travels to England or Australia, the hosts make pitches which suit their fast bowlers.

So, what was the big deal about having a track at home which made viewing spin merchants Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Amit Mishra fascinating.

Team India needed to win and despite all the instant thrills in T20 and ODIs, winning a Test at home is a huge achievement. For captain Kohli, leading for the first time in a Test at home, this was the kind of start which will ensure he asks the team to play with the same passion and aggression.

At a time when we complain about Test matches being boring and spectators not turning up at the venue, the Mohali stands were also empty. Whether you make cosmetic changes with the playing conditions or the colour of the ball, Test attendances may have dwindled, but the number of people who watched this match on TV was huge.

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From day one in Mohali, the wicket looked a difficult one to bat on. If the South Africans thought they could bat as freely as they did in the fifth ODI in Mumbai, they were in for a surprise.

The world over, the number of batsmen who play spin well is going down. The reasons can be debated, but be sure, even in India, there are many batsmen today who do not play the turning ball with the ease of Sunil Gavaskar on the front foot and the audacity of GR Vishwanath on the back foot.

Between these two magicians, they made batting look a delightful art on vicious tracks with the Little Master's 96 on a treacherous pitch in Bangalore 1987 against Pakistan's Iqbal Qasim and Tauseef Ahmed etched in memory.

If Gavaskar, short in height, was in command against the tweakers and used his footwork delightfully, Vishwanath was equally effective when he played the cut and drive with elan.

In Mohali, there was no Gavaskar or Vishwanath-like elegance on view, but between Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara, they showed what it takes to graft runs on a tricky track.

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As Kohli said, the ball was not turning square but it required patience and skill for scoring. Vijay and Pujara played as the situation demanded, though to a large extent, the South African spinners were made to look better than what they actually were.

From India's point of view, Ashwin's tantalising flight, coupled with Jadeja's nagging accuracy, was the high point. Ashwin has been going from strength to strength as India's frontline spinner and realised he doesn't have to do too much with the ball on a track like this.

The key on surfaces which assists spinners is to bowl a fuller length and hit the same spot again and again. If Ashwin did that, Jadeja was confidence personified as a result of his rich vein of form in the Ranji campaign for Saurashtra this season.

But what was equally important for India were the 38 runs which Jadeja chipped in with, as he was in no hurry to score.

For his part, Amit Mishra, in the news for wrong reasons in the lead-up to the Test series, bowled with guile and his dismissal of AB de Villiers on Saturday was proof leggies can be dangerous.

Looking ahead, one can be sure the Indian think tank is going to ask for pitches which will assist the spinners in Bangalore, Nagpur and New Delhi.

There are people at home who criticise our own curators, but as Ashwin said, we say nothing like this when Indian batsmen have to dance on pitches where the ball seams and swings abroad.

Then again, before the series, team director Ravi Shastri had said if tracks help spinners, he may even play four tweakers.

We will have to take that with a pinch of salt as Kohli's five batsmen-five bowler theory looks fine.

Last updated: November 08, 2015 | 09:55
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