They did it in Mohali, and now they have done it in Nagpur. Team India have wrapped up two matches of this Test series inside three days and have taken the series 2-0 with the final Test to go. They have not only defeated the No. 1 ranked team in the world, but have also ended their streak of 16 unbeaten away Test series. This triumph against South Africa is nothing short of historic.
It is needless to say that the pillars of this victory have been the Indian spinners, who have taken 47 of the 50 South African wickets to fall in the series so far. Captain, Virat Kohli, is understandably thankful to have them by his side.
“Having Ashwin, Mishra and Jadeja in the team is a big plus,” Virat said. “Two out of the three guys are very consistent and Amit Mishra, for a leg-spinner, is very economical, which is not a regular sight. He is someone who knows his bowling, his variations and where to pitch the ball. It’s a delight to have all three in the squad. All three bowling well in Indian conditions is obviously is an advantage (for India) and a threat for the opposition.
“I am really happy all three are in rhythm and I am really happy for Jadeja because he is making a comeback and the way he has bowled really well. He has looked confident with the bat as well, and it shows that if you go back to first-class cricket and you work hard to come up the right way again, things do fall in place. I am really happy for all three of them, they are really doing well and I hope they continue the same way,” he said.
Of all the three spinners, Ashwin has, by far, been the best, with 24 wickets under his belt already. Virat’s praise for him had no bounds.
“He has always been a quality bowler and as I said earlier, he has become more consistent with his stock ball which is flighting the ball and getting more results,” Virat said of Ashwin. “He is not trying too much, you hardly see the carrom ball coming in and that’s the sign of confidence for any spinner where he is relying on his natural delivery to deceive the batsmen with changes of pace. That’s something that has changed him. That’s made him stronger as a bowler and he is winning games for us consistently.
“Getting the taste of that winning habit is one thing but holding on to it is quite another. These kind of consistent performances show that he is a champion bowler, the mental strength he has and the knowledge of the game that he has. I wish him all the luck and I congratulate him on this performance.”
While Ashwin and Jadeja have taken the bulk of the wickets, the support they have received from Mishra and Ishant Sharma has been vital for India as a bowling unit. Mishra has often come in and given his captain that crucial wicket whenever a partnership has threatened to blossom.
In the fourth innings in Nagpur, Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis put on a resolute show with a 72-run partnership and denied India a wicket for 46.2 overs. Mishra broke the partnership and dismissed both the batsmen inside six balls. Virat lauded his leg-spinner’s confidence and accuracy.
“Mishra getting us those crucial breakthroughs has been important for us as a bowling unit,” Virat said. Today when the partnership was on between Faf and Amla, he actually held the ball and told me, ‘I will get a wicket’, and in about three overs he got Hashim out. As a captain it is pleasing to hear your bowler say that. He persisted with it, he knew that he would get a wicket if he bowled in the right areas. Credit to him for getting us the breakthrough and then getting du Plessis out as well. That just opened the gate for us beautifully.”
As the spinners made merry, Ishant kept to fielding for most of the match. But when the wickets didn’t come easily, he bent his back and bowled with pace, accuracy and reverse swing. In his 15 overs in the fourth innings, he gave away only 20 runs, hence allowing the spinners to maintain the pressure. Virat acknowledged his pacer’s readiness to bowl for his mates.
“Ishant, on a wicket that was tough, he really bowled his heart out,” Virat said. “He was swinging the ball really well and also put the reverse swing to good use. He is one bowler who does reverse the ball very well. He has learnt that from our bowlers in the past and he is using it pretty well. So credit goes to Ishant and Mishra equally along with Jadeja and Ashwin for this victory today.”
While the bowlers got the captain’s accolades, the Indian batsmen’s lack of application on tough wickets remains a concern. And Virat made no bones about it.
“We, as a batting unit – and I said this in Mohali as well – haven’t applied ourselves properly. One or two batsmen have, but I think to play well consistently you have to apply as a batsman so we are talking of four guys out of six,” he said.
“Two odd guys getting a few runs every innings does not get you to a big total. We have still been able to get to 220-225 odd three times out of four, but as I said if two guys apply themselves, and the rest don’t, then things don’t go as planned. Even on turning pitches, if you apply yourself and if you are determined to dig in and play a game that is not natural to you, you can score runs.
“Two batsmen did that in Mohali – Vijay got a decent start in the first innings, Pujara played well, in the second innings. Shikhar got some runs here. So everyone showed that runs can be scored, it was more a case of batsmen making mistake rather than the ball doing some crazy things out in the middle. I think it was more of a mental thing which needed more application,” he said.
