Test cricket is a brutal sport. It may not have the physical violence of boxing, or require the stamina of football, but it is mentally the most demanding sport in the world. Test cricketers are expected to maintain their concentration at the highest level for 6 hours a day, 5 days in succession.
And if Test cricket is a mental game, South Africa were found to be woefully short at Mohali, losing a low scoring match by 108 runs, after having been dismissed for just 109 in their second innings on the third day of the Test, managing to last a mere 39.5 overs.
The South African mentality can be surmised by top batsman Faf du Plessis’ attitude when asked about what he expected from the Mohali track. Faf, normally a positive player, said, the “worst”. This just goes to show that the South Africans had lost the match even before it had begun, because of their own internal demons.
As you might have expected, Faf du Plessis was their worst performer, getting out for a duck in the first innings and just 1 in the second. Lesson for South Africa – you cannot win a Test match with such negativity. When you expect the worst, the worst usually happens.
Sure, the Indian spinners – Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra and in particular, Ravichandran Ashwin were very good. They took full advantage of the helpful conditions. But the South Africans made them look far better than they really are. One would have thought, given how the South Africans approached Jadeja, Ashwin and Mishra that it was the trio of Anil Kumble, Shane Warne and Muttiah Murlidharan bowling to them! Sure, India’s current trio of spin bowlers are good, but not that good!
The only South African player who was positive in attitude and took on the Indian spinners aggressively was the modern batting great, AB de Villiers. AB batted with panache and confidence, using his feet and not being afraid to take on the spin bowlers. He only got out in both innings to a couple of great deliveries from leg spinner Amit Mishra, who will have every reason to believe that he has found a chink in the great De Villiers’ armor.
Apart from AB, South Africa had a real brain freeze, which is hard to explain. They come to India with a huge reputation – they are after all, the #1 ranked Test team in the world. They are a group of formidable players – Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and of course, AB de Villiers are easily the best cricketers in the world. So to see them lose so badly and playing with such a negative attitude is really in explicable.
One can only imagine the impact of such an attitude from the seniors on young players such as Dean Elgar, Stiaan van Zyl, Simon Harmer, Kagiso Rabada and Dane Vilas. The younger players did their best, but lacked support from the seniors. One can only hope for things to improve once JP Duminy, who is known for his positive approach to the game, recovered from the injury and plays the next match in Delhi, probably in place of the woeful Faf du Plessis.
Meanwhile the Indians are going for the kill. An Indian official said that instructions have been given to the curator at the Feroz Shah Kotla to prepare a spinner-friendly track. He said, “We will have to prepare it according to what the Indian team and the BCCI wants.” South Africa will do well to ignore all of that and trust their natural instincts, which is to play cricket the hard way and go for a win at all cost.
