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India needed tour game to adjust to bounce in SA: Gavaskar

India’s new Ball bowlers have seldom bowled as splendidly as they did at the Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town. Sure, the conditions suited them perfectly as the covering of the pitch and rains throughout the third day’s play meant that the grass wasn’t mowed off as it is every morning before the start of play. There was also a bit of cloud cover which helped the ball to move a bit more and had the Proteas batsmen in trouble. Only the classy AB de Villiers looked in any sense of ease.
India’s catching also was superb and Kohli’s field placements spot on. The sun coming out after lunch would have dried the pitch somewhat but also made it (pitch) harder for the bigger taller South African bowlers to get more bounce. That’s what got the batsmen in trouble. Dhawan has been troubled by the short ball in South Africa as well as Australia, and he perished again, this time attempting a half-fend, half-pull shot.
Pujara also got one that bounced more than he anticipated and was taken by Quinton de Kock. On the bouncier pitches, if a batsman does not use the back foot or the depth of the crease, he is not going to find it easy. That is the reason there should be practice games where batsmen will get the chance to get used to the ball bouncing towards the shoulders. No amount of practice against your quick bowlers, even if they are bowling from 18 yards, will give the same feeling as playing local bowlers who are more than 6 feet tall.
Shami was back to his best, bowling with speed and hostility, and with both Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowling tight line and lengths, there was no escape for the Proteas batsmen. Hardik Pandya is getting better every game and, most importantly, is recognising situations and playing accordingly.
Losing the first Test in a three-match series means that the losing team is playing catch up, and for a touring team with modern day schedules of no practice games in between matches, it generally means catching just thin air.
PMG/ESP

Source : timesofindia



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