Without Rabada Nortje & a newish attack tbh this is a weak SA team. Pakistan smashed a better side in April across T20 & ODIs. I think SL won the ODI series against them as well before IPl.I mean Dravid's only just taken over, and Lokesh is captaining for the first time. Lots of factors at play here. It's not like SA are bowling crap either - they are the home team and have been a good ODI outfit for a while now!
Rahul actually accepted that in the post match which was good to see. At least he seems to have bit of honesty going for him.View attachment 30498
Lol Shamsi rubbing it in... But he is right Pitches were totally SC in nature which makes these losses look very bad
To be fair,Shamsi and Maharaj are both quality spin bowlers. Maharaj is alot craftier than people give him credit for in LO cricket and Shamsi is in the form of his life at the moment. I do think that as well as Markram has bowled,they have been very cautious with him!Rahul actually accepted that in the post match which was good to see. At least he seems to have bit of honesty going for him.
Yeah and you cant discount the South African bounce on these tracks means even the slow turners behave differently to how our turners behave. RSA were immense in the T20 WC as well and were very unlucky to miss out with a very similar attack. So yes, it will be silly to not see they actually had a very good team for the conditions and performed far better. Bavuma has a few things that I dont like as a captain, but his field placings and bowling changes are always on the aggressive side and that is good to see in an international captain these days.To be fair,Shamsi and Maharaj are both quality spin bowlers. Maharaj is alot craftier than people give him credit for in LO cricket and Shamsi is in the form of his life at the moment. I do think that as well as Markram has bowled,they have been very cautious with him!
We don't know what's going on from the outside. I don't think Dravid would just enter the scene and start making changes from get go. Bhuvi is an experienced bowler who is fighting for his place in the team, this was a good time to just test him out and retain/bin him going forward. Same with Dhawan. I agree there are youngsters waiting for the opportunities and they'll be preferred after what has happened in this series, but this is too early. Dravid should be given a free-hand for a year or two before we come to any conclusions.And that ought to be the coach's job. I can't believe someone like Dravid isn't able to see what the rest of us slobs so obviously do, so what's going on? I think Dravid's too reticent and too nice to read the riot act to these IPL prima donnas. I'm coming around to accepting that Shastri managed the task masterfully: worked himself into the captain's good graces, wowed the rest of the team with showmanship, and coordinated steategy with the support staff behind the scenes. Am I being too generous to the wino, too harsh on Dravid? Probably, but hard to shake the feeling that the team's adrift atm.
Father and son duo need some time. In the end family is the most important thing.
This one's so perfect considering the situation
Hes averaged 50+ striking at 105 and won india multiple games in the middle order since aus toured in 2019, managment just randomly decided to have him open this series instead of backing a young gun like gaikwad 0_0KL Rahul is so intrepid though. Would not have chosen him to be a captain. Besides, is he even good enough to warrant a spot in the team at all times? I am a bit biased against him because of the whole years of mediocrity thing but he's so meh imo.
Never been a opener this guy. He is not mentally prepared for big games as well. However he really turned a corner as no 5.. Always had the range of strokes to finish a inns. Poor decision to push him to open.KL Rahul is so intrepid though. Would not have chosen him to be a captain. Besides, is he even good enough to warrant a spot in the team at all times? I am a bit biased against him because of the whole years of mediocrity thing but he's so meh imo.