Batsmen with the lowest averages in India-South Africa Tests

The first word that comes to mind when we think of Rohit Sharma is- ‘Lazy Elegance’. Rohit just seems to have an extra second while he is at the crease. He had a terrific home-season and was almost on par with Virat Kohli in ODIs in 2017. Recently, he also smashed the joint-fastest 35-ball century in a T20I against Sri Lanka. He has worked wonders for India ever since his promotion as the opener in the limited-overs format.

In the Test matches, he did well against the Lankans in whatever opportunity that he had. On the back of such amazing performances, many expected him to do well in South Africa. The captain and team management showed a lot of his trust in Rohit picking him ahead of Ajinkya Rahane in both the Tests.

Virat cited that the current form was the reason for his selection. However, Rohit failed in all the three innings that he played thus far. He is finding it tough to cope up with the conditions in South Africa where there is bounce as well as quality lateral movement.

Rohit vs South Africa in Tests

He has really struggled against the South African team in Tests. His performance against the rainbow nation has been very ordinary. In this series, he has particularly struggled against the incoming deliveries. The Proteas bowlers must be credited for setting him up beautifully. After an array of out swinging deliveries, there is one that comes in and he has either got out bowled or lbw.

In an analysis by the commentary panel during the first test, it was found he gets his foot way across the off-stump to cope up with the out-swinging deliveries. His front-foot nearly points towards the mid-off or cover and takes an initial stride out while facing most of the deliveries. This adjustment helps him deal with the ball that moves away.

But when it comes back in, he is a little off-balance and the ball strikes him on his pads or gets through the bat-pad gap. The South African bowlers, especially Kagiso Rabada has exploited this technical flaw very well.

Statistical analysis of his performance

Rohit is right up there in the ‘lowest batting averages in India-South Africa Tests’. He is sixth in this list averaging only 9.27 and is the only batsman to feature there. For a batsman of his standard and ability who averages close to 40 in Tests, 9.27 is a tough pill to swallow.

Venkatesh Prasad has the lowest batting average among all the players. It is interesting to observe that there are only two South Africans in the list out of six. Paul Harris and Makhaya Ntini the two former bowlers average 6.22 and 7.78 respectively.

Rohit has scored only 31 runs in 3 innings in the ongoing series. He will want to improve his average against SA provided he gets another chance. He certainly will get another opportunity to do that in the 2nd Test. Among the other players, only Ishant Sharma is a part of the Indian playing eleven at this point in time. He is second in the list and averages 5.44. Former Indian fast bowler, Javagal Srinath also features in here averaging only 8.50.

Here is the list of batsmen with the lowest averages in India-South Africa Tests:

These cricket stats are as on 15th Jan 2018