A plethora of cricket experts predicted that Team India would easily win South Africa this time. After some notable performances in Australia and England, the first Test series in the Rainbow Nation almost came to an end.
Even the tour started with the same energy as Virat Kohli and Co. won the first match of the series by 113 runs to take a 1-0 lead. However, it proved to be India’s last laugh in Tests. South Africa came back hard and registered one win after another – in Johannesburg and Cape Town – by 7 wickets (in both games) to negate India’s history.
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Former South African batsman Daryl Cullinan feels India’s win at Centurion – his first at SuperSport Park – may have given tourists a false sense of security. Talking to ESPN Cricinfo, he termed the win as the ‘worst thing’ for Kohli and Co.
“The South African bowlers changed their lengths (after the first Test) and asked India to play more. Indian batsmen were found to be weak. You can’t convert it into a Test match. These people look good at home. He batted well in Australia, but with movement and inconsistent bounce, he was found running back, technically squared up, playing from the crease. There is a technical problem. Regardless of how long you batted, if you are playing from the crease then your career will not be long,” Cullinan told Cricinfo.
“Probably the worst thing for India from a batting point of view was that they won the first Test. You almost thought they had arrived. But South Africa came back really well,” he said.
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Cullinan further highlighted the failure of the Indian bowlers. He said that the domestic bowlers were more consistent than their Indian counterparts.
“India’s bowlers were inconsistent. Perhaps the most consistent was Shami. We saw Bumrah go without taking a wicket (second innings at Wanderers) on a pitch where he was expected to bowl well. That’s the story of all three Test matches – inconsistency.”
“I think where India erred is (not playing) Ishant Sharma. There was no balance at all. Ashwin, in the end, neither Maharaj played a role in the series in any way, not even keeping an end. India desperately needs to think about their fourth fast bowler. India was winning successfully over the years because of its bowling. Sadly they weren’t in this series,” Cullinan concluded.
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