India vs South Africa 1st Test: 5 Talking Points of the Match

India vs South Africa 1^st Test: 5 Talking Points of the Match: No one would have expected the first Test to end within 3 days to spare. But India has done that, emphatically defeating South Africa by 108 runs, in a match wherein spinners made merry. While the batsmen had a real tough time to decipher the situation, spinners from both the teams made merry out of the conditions. While the Indians would be pleased with their performance, the South African batsmen never really completely applied themselves on occasions.

A Test match with such an unexpected proceedings, here are the 5 Talking Points of the match:

1. The Pitch

Even before the start of the Test series, the pitch played for the final ODI received quite a lot of attention, with the controversy involving a couple of the members of the Indian Cricket team and the curator of the Wankhede pitch. So logically, there was quite a lot of attention to the pitch at Mohali, which has been known to assist the pacers over the years. Albeit the assurance from the curator about the pitch being a sporting one, he did warn that pitch has slowed down due to wear and tear. And boy he was right! The match has been wrapped up under 3 days, with just 6 of the 40 wickets to fall coming to pacers. The pitch was a rank turner right from day 1, and flummoxed everyone with how it behaved. The age old debate about Indians tinkering the pitch to their advantage cropped up, with Dean Elgar criticizing the nature of the pitch. And received an equally scathing reply from Ashwin the very next day. Though credit to India on completely capitalizing the situation, which could have backfired like Mumbai 2012, wherein India lost a match in a rank turner.

2. The Spin Trio

Just a couple of months ago, Ashwin and Mishra were touted to become a force to reckon with in the coming years in subcontinent conditions, following an excellent performance by the duo in Sri Lanka. A comeback from Jadeja looked bleak back then. But coming back to present, a fifer in his return to international cricket, and making the South Africans dance to his spin tunes, is a perfect way to respond to his critics. And not to forget Jadeja’s crucial contribution in the first innings with the bat. While Ashwin and Mishra played their role perfectly in this Test, the presence of Jadeja eventually tilted the match to their favor. With the pitches in India tailor-made to suit the spinners, these three will be a force to reckon with in the coming years in Indian and sub-continent conditions.

3. Vijay and Pujara show how it is played

In a pitch were in each and every batsman from both the teams had hard time to adjust, Vijay and Pujara played sublimely in both the innings. While Vijay’s knock in the first innings drove India to a modest total, Pujara looked solid before falling to Elgar. The roles were reversed in the second innings, wherein Pujara was solid in the middle where players around him were falling like a pack of cards. Both of them applied themselves perfectly according to extremely tough batting conditions and negotiated the South African bowlers perfectly. While the South African batsmen can take a cue out the duo’s performance, the rest of the Indian batsmen can rediscover their form against spin by applying themselves like these two did.

4. Steyn – Morkel Combo were sorely missed

Dale Steyn’s incredible record in sub-continent conditions was the talking point before the Tests, and he was an X-factor for the South Africa as far as the old ball was concerned. But thanks to a groin injury, he was ruled out of bowling for most of the Test. But even when he had the ball in hand, he did not look menacing enough, thanks to the absence of Morkel, his partner in crime. While the spotlight is usually on Steyn, Morkel is a factor which enables Steyn to take the wickets. The combo are threatening even in sub-continent conditions, as they showed in the ODIs till Morkel was injured. Albeit the pitch being a rank turner, the very presence of those two could have tilted the match towards their favor to an extent.

5. Spin still a mystery for SA batsmen

Despite having plenty of IPL experience to back them up, most of the batsmen failed miserably against the spinners. Of course, not to forget the fact that only 3 of the playing 11 had actually played a Test match in India previously before this test. They were utterly flummoxed by the Indian bowlers, who were not dangerously threatening, but were extremely consistent. While AB did play a crucial knock in the first innings, he had 2 reprieves. Amla, who flattened the Indian bowlers last time around, was left blushing after he let a ball crash onto his middle stump in the second innings. The other batsmen too were left clueless by the spin trio. With the possible return of Duminy in the second innings, their middle order would be re-enforced. Nevertheless, the South Africans would look to take a leaf out of this Test, and prepare accordingly for the coming three Tests, wherein they can expect better but equally spin friendly pitches.