I have nothing but praise for these South Africans. The way Smith captained the side under pressure, while constantly being criticized, is quite commendable in my eyes. Pollock is a complete asset to the team, his line and length and him able to keep his cool under pressure makes him an outstanding world-class bowler. And let's not forget his batting as well, which has been a pleasure to watch. Prince, on the other hand, is another asset to this South African side, who came big on almost each occasion. When others gave up, he responded. Overall this South African side really impressed me, they have great captain, a great bowling attack, and two world-class allrounders.
On the contrary, India looked spineless. Apart from the first Test match, in which they batted well, bowled superbly, and played with heart. Even though we registered are first win in South Africa, we were certainly capable of doing more had we done the basics right. Running between the wickets and the fielding all suggested the possibility of India being the one of the most unfit sides in world cricket today.
Many are saying to drop Tendulkar. As I have said many times on this thread, yes Tendulkar is well past his best, but we must understand the fact that he HAD been rubbish for the past year or so but in this series he has been decent. And as much as we argue the fact that decent isn’t good enough for Tendulkar, we must also not forget the fact that Tendulkar is coming straight from injury and has been one of the best batsmen in the team. He has been promising in this series, and because of that I say he deserves a chance in England to prove his worth. If he fails there, then his exclusion is justified. Also, let’s not forget the confidence he inserts into the team with his inclusion.
Overall, even though India lost, this series was delightful to watch.
For India, they can take a few positives from this tour…
- The emergence of Karthik and Sreesanth
- The revival of Zaheer and Ganguly
They certainly need to work towards the world cup now, which is in a few months time. They should look to work on the basics, such as running between the wicket, fitness, fielding. Also, there are a few selection problems that need to be sorted out.
For South Africa, they should look to prepare themselves for the series against Pakistan. One thing is for sure, it will be much more challenging than the one that has just finished.