Pandya and Ashwin showed that Indian batsmen have a technical, not mental, block overseas

“Taking 20 wickets to win a Test match is the priority. But if your batsmen don’t bat well, then it doesn’t matter.”

— India skipper Virat Kohli on Monday

Kohli wore a dejected look when he faced the press after a disappointing 72-run loss to South Africa in the opening Test of the three-match series in Cape Town.

In the morning session of day four, Kohli was one of the loudest and most animated players on the field as India’s bowlers ran through the South African batting order. Resuming on 65/2, the hosts were dismissed for 130 just before lunch.

India had set out to change the perception that they are just backyard bullies and prove they can compete with any team even in overseas conditions. At lunch, with a target of 208 to win the first Test, for a few fleeting moments that possibility seemed realistic.

Reality, however, soon dawned on the Indian contingent as their batsmen set out to chase the tricky target with little over a day and half still left in the Test.

As has been the case for most Indian batting line-ups of the past, this one, led by the talismanic skipper, also collapsed. Starting their innings after lunch, last man Bumrah was dismissed with about an hour still left in the day.

With 37, spin bowler R Ashwin was the team’s top-run scorer in the innings. Kohli was the next highest at 28. No one else breached the 20-run mark.

While South Africa’s batsmen also struggled through the game, India’s strong batting line-up was expected to produce a more competitive performance.

There were no partnerships and the team’s chase withered away thanks to a below-par performance by the batsmen and the heroics of South African pacer Vernon Philander, who was declared Man of the match for his six-wicket haul.

Learning from mistakes

“We were very well-prepared. I don’t think we felt any lack of preparation.”

— Virat Kohli

India’s batsmen had started disastrously in the first innings. Their top-order collapsed nearly the same away as it did in the second. The openers failed to make an impression. Cheteshwar Pujara and Kohli at Nos 3 and 4 respectively, fell without making much of an impact. Rohit Sharma, who was included in the playing XI in place of vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, also failed.

In both innings of the game, India’s top-order contributed just 76 runs to the team total.

At the core of this collective failure was the player’s shoddy shot selection and general lack of preparedness for the vagaries of a wicket that offered not only pace and bounce to the bowlers, but also lateral movement.

A lack of application on part of the Indian batsmen also seemed to have played a role. Dhawan and Vijay were disastrous in both innings. While the former failed to fend off short deliveries in each of his outing, the latter was guilty of fishing for the ball outside the off stump on both occasions.

With the openers departing early in both essays, the pressure fell on Pujara and Kohli to not only steady the ship, but also form the offensive against South Africa’s pacers, who were a dominant force through the match. Unfortunately for India, the usually reliable Pujara and Kohli were off-colour in this match. South Africa’s bowlers tested both players in the corridor just outside off in both innings.

Pujara, who had seemed settled in the first innings after toiling away for 154 minutes to score 26 runs, was being tempted to play at deliveries outside the off-stump. He in fact scored a majority of his runs on the leg side. But the one time he did go for the off drive, he was deceived by the late seam movement and caught in the slips.

In the second innings, there was no time to toil. He was gone after just four minutes in the middle. He once again failed to read the seam movement in time as the ball moved in after pitching. Pujara played inside the line of the ball and once again edged it behind.

Late movement

“We needed someone to get a 75 or 80. Twenties or thirties were not enough.”

— Virat Kohli

Kohli too was unable to tackle the late movement. In the first innings he was deceived by a short delivery pitched outside the off-stump by Morne Morkel. The India captain, who usually always seems like he is seeing the ball in slow motion, just did not get in position in time for the delivery and even had his feet in the air as he attempted to nudge the ball.

In the second essay, he was once again late at playing the ball. This time Philander pitched it full, Kohli looked to employ his tested-to-perfection flick, but this wasn’t your typical swinging delivery. Philander got it to jag back inside so sharply that even Kohli misread the movement and was caught plumb in front of the stumps.

At No 5, Rohit did not fare much better. After facing a barrage of balls outside the off stump, the Mumbai batsman was deceived by deliveries that came inside. He was trapped in front of off-stump in the first innings; in the second he chopped a ball outside off onto the stumps.

The only batsman who managed to score more than 50 for India in the match was Hardik Pandya. The all-rounder showed some application. His knock proved to be an anomaly in an otherwise sordid batting performance by the Indians.

Pandya, however, had profited through two reprieves during his knock of 93. One, when he was dropped while on 15 and then when South Africa wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock missed a stumping.

Missing the mark

“We very easily assess the team when we go abroad but we don’t look at how many days we have got to prepare before we go to a particular place to play.”

— Virat Kohli in November on India's cramped schedule

India have traditionally not been good away from home. The consistent performances of the current lot over the past year and a half had raised hopes of a possible change in this notion.

One doesn’t win a Test match without taking 20 wickets goes the adage. This time around, the bowlers delivered, but the batsmen failed to lend support.

The batsmen failed to tackle the short ball as well as the away-going delivery. It was an eye-opener as to how inept the team can appear at tackling conditions that offer help to the fast bowlers.

These players are by no means inept. They are fierce batsmen, who have proven to be consistent performers. But, a lack of regular playing time in overseas conditions seems to have made this outing a rather forgetful one.

The team has spent the last year and a half playing predominantly at home or on tours of Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, West Indies and Bangladesh.

The result points towards the fact that the team, which has the potential to be one of the best of all-time, is not being afforded the right exposure necessary to help them achieve their ambition.

The members of this team, though, inspire confidence. That they are ready to learn from their mistakes was evident in how the pace bowlers came back strong in the second innings after allowing South Africa to stage a fightback on day one.

Pandya’s performance with the bat in the first essay, followed by Ashwin’s late batting cameo in the second, proved that the players were mentally ready to battle till the very end. It’s just about getting accustomed to the conditions. The remaining two Tests will show if this team has the stomach for a fight.

The heart is in the right place, but old habits die hard. This team knows it better than most others.