Cricket: “We can't call ourselves a top Test side!” - Former India greats slam Gambhir, Agarkar after loss to South Africa
Pathan and Prasad question India’s spin and selection tactics
Irfan Pathan, Venkatesh Prasad and Wasim Jaffer were among a handful of former Indian cricketers who publicly expressed their dissatisfaction over India’s shocking 30-run loss to South Africa at Eden Gardens in the first of two Tests this past weekend.
The Men in Blue failed to chase down a very achievable 124 in their second innings in Kolkata, giving the Proteas a 1-0 lead to carry into the second match at the Barsapara Stadium. The match gets underway on Saturday, so be sure to check out our cricket predictions for all the insights.
Spinner Simon Harmer was the chief destroyer for the South Africans, picking up eight wickets in the match and proving almost unplayable at times. In an interview with the media, Pathan pointed out that India’s ability to handle quality spin bowling has reduced, saying:
"Skills to play spin on turning tracks around the world have definitely gone down, but this kind of batting from India shows how much our own ability has dropped too. Soft hands, wrist work, all of it has declined drastically.”
Much has been made about India’s squad selections over the past year following Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s retirement from Test cricket, and Prasad suggested that this latest defeat could be the start of bigger problems facing India’s Test plans. He said:
"While we have been excellent in white-ball cricket, we can't call ourselves a top Test side with such planning. Selections without clarity and over-tactical thinking are backfiring. Poor results over a year in Tests, barring a drawn series in England."
Aside from the issues mentioned above, the Eden Gardens pitch also became a major talking point after the first Test, with the strip producing variable bounce from Day 1, which made batting something of a nightmare. Temba Bavuma was the only player to score a half-century in the match.
Jadeja, Rahul, Pant among individual record-markers in first Test
Despite the result, Indian fans were able to cheer individual achievements from their players in the Kolkata Test, headlined by Ravindra Jadeja joining an elite group of all-rounders.
Jadeja reached the milestone of scoring 4,000 runs and taking 300 wickets in Test matches, a feat that has only been achieved by England’s Ian Botham, Daniel Vettori of New Zealand, and the legendary Indian cricketer Kapil Dev.
In the same match, KL Rahul became the 18th Indian cricketer to score 4,000 runs for his nation, doing so just before Jadeja on Day 2, while Rishabh Pant surpassed Virender Sehwag for the most sixes in Tests for India (91).
