Former India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin praised South Africa captain Temba Bavuma for playing well (55* runs off 136 deliveries) with the bat in the first Test at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. South Africa registered a historic 30-run win on Sunday, November 16, their first on Indian soil in 15 years, to claim a 1-0 lead in the Test series as well.
“So, on a pitch, where you have to fear the pacers and the spinners, and run scoring options are limited, then it is very difficult. So, credit to South Africa, despite Maharaj having a very ordinary game, they came out on top. The way Temba Bavuma played in this game, I have not seen too many Indian batters also bat like that. Washington Sundar defended outstandingly, Axar Patel has a class defence, but I have not seen too many players defend like Bavuma,” R Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
“In another game, in another era, where spin bowling was compacted very well, Amol Muzumdar, Mithun Manhas, even Sachin Tendulkar in his prime. If they had played in the same wicket against spin, the game would have gone four days. And now, in this game, in a batting lineup of two teams, where only three batters have defended the ball well, among 15-16 batters. So, if you want to play on turning pitches, your game against spin has to be very good. If it is not, then don’t play on such pitches. As simple as that,” R Ashwin shared again.
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“We are not the best players of spin going around in the world at this point of time. Many Western teams are much better players of spin at this point of time. The problem is that the kind of wicket we used in Ahmedabad against the West Indies, we cannot use it against South Africa. They will get Jansen, Rabada, and Bosch, then there will be no home advantage. Instead, you can use pitches like the one that was there in Delhi. This team is not ready to play on these type of wickets,” he added again.
Team India have a pretty bad record when it comes to similar run chases earlier as well. Almost exactly a year ago, India failed while chasing a 147-run target in the third Test against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium, losing the match by 25 runs as well.
“If you are playing against the West Indies in Eden Gardens and Guwahati, then no problem. The matches against South Africa should have been scheduled in Ahmedabad and Delhi instead. Whatever said and done, India should have got 124, we did not have the adequate resources to counter spin in a good manner,” R Ashwin concluded.
