India vs South Africa: How Indian bowlers preyed on SA batters’ patience

Guwahati: On a pitch that facilitated an engaging game of Test cricket, Indian bowlers stood out with their class and craft. The opening day's play of the second Test between India and South Africa was a welcome departure from the one that unfolded in Kolkata and put to test not just the skills of the players but their temperament as well.

As many as five South African batters, after their skipper Temba Bavuma opted to bat first, showed runs were available for those willing to apply themselves. The visitors, however, could have been in a far better situation had they maintained discipline for longer periods. It wasn't a surface where you could score freely but it wasn't something where each ball had your name on it. Batting time and tiring the bowlers should have been their strategy, especially after getting good starts.

That said, India’s bowlers deserve every bit of credit. The field placements were somewhat defensive early on, yet the bowlers remained committed to their plans. The pacers operated with patience and relentless accuracy, attacking the stumps and limiting scoring options. The spinners extracted appreciable turn and bounce even on day one, constantly keeping the batters guessing.

Their strategy of drying up runs paid off beautifully as three set batters threw away their wickets in attempts to break the shackles.

"You can bat time, but you look up and the scoreboard's sort of gone nowhere," said South African batter Tristan Stubbbs. "I do think they (India) bowled quite well, the seamers especially. (They) just kept bowling straight lines, attacking the stumps, and they sort of bowled to contain, so I think they bowl nicely. But all of us had opportunities, and if you look in it, no one kicked on (after getting starts), so we can take that (blame) on ourselves."    

This once again underlines the point that India should reconsider their fascination for rank-turners and instead play on decks that suit their strengths.   

"It's a really tough one," said Indian team's assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate when asked if India should explore options of playing on surfaces that aren't under-prepared. "My personal point of view is that the wicket very rarely determines who wins the game. If we'd played better in Kolkata, I feel we could have won the Test on that surface. So the first thing isn't to look at the wicket, it's to look at the quality of cricket that both teams are playing. But having said that, you've got to introspect and look at recent results."

India lost two Tests against New Zealand last year and one against South Africa last week on pitches which heavily aided spinners.   

"I think these sort of wickets maybe will suit us a little bit better," said ten Doeschate in his extended reply. "You've got to be prepared to fight really hard and this game is going to go deep. The only thing I would say is maybe the toss makes it even more important. The toss becomes even more important in these conditions.

"If you are going to be prepared to lose the toss, you have to put on a display like that today, really fight for every run and make sure you stay in the game. Like I said, at some point the pressure is going to come, it's just going to come later in this game. The template for us is probably closer to this than playing on some of the wickets we have played on."