South Africa’s batting collapse has just confirmed what I have been saying all along - that pitches have very little to do with South Africa’s performance. It is the batting that has let them down. It is actually a pretty ordinary batting line-up. Hashim Amla has not been in the best of forms and only AB de Villiers has looked a class above everybody else.
When you look at the South African teams with the likes of Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, Herschelle Gibbs, and Daryll Cullinan in the ranks, you would say they would have certainly given a lot more resistance. The pitch was absolutely fine. But those who do not like to see the Indian team do well will blame something else, rather than saying South African batting was inept and the Indian bowling was much better.
Ravindra Jadeja used the angles really well. He is that kind of a bowler whose space makes it very difficult for the batsmen to go down the pitch when there is something in it from the pitch. On a flat pitch where nothing is happening and the ball is coming straight, he can be predictable. But on a pitch with even little bit of turn, he becomes impossible to play. R Ashwin may not have got the wickets but he kept the pressure on.
For me, the ball of the day was the one that Umesh Yadav bowled to get rid of JP Duminy. It started to slant in and then after pitching, it did just enough to leave the batsman to square him up and Duminy lost his off stump.
India are sitting very pretty with a lead of over 200 runs, and all they need to do is get about 150 runs, and they will be absolutely safe. I do not think this South African team has got the character to fight and get themselves out of the situation and go on to win the game.
