Centurion, Day 2, Close
Saturday, November 24, 2001

It's very frustrating watching the Indians trying to take wickets as there was distinct lack of imagination from the bowlers. The captain Rahul Dravid was not much better. Both Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble had given ample indication that there is purchase to be had from the pitch, yet Sachin Tendulkar was introduced only at the tail-end of the day.

Tendulkar is a genuine spinner of the ball and has a proven track record of taking quick wickets when introduced into the attack. It's imperative that captains appreciate this ability in him and give him a three-over spell in each session. Priority has to be given to work at more intellectual inputs going into Indian cricket.

It was nice to see Kumble breaking the monotony in his bowling. It was refreshing to see him operate with a different field: he bowled to the right-hander with two slips and for a while he made a conscious attempt to bowl outside the off stump. He needs to bowl closer to the stumps to be effective. He tried a couple of times but lost his line in the process, but it was the attempt to think differently when things are not going well that was most heartening.

Harbhajan was bowling his wrong'uns quite well, but he would do well to learn from the way Tendulkar bowled. Tendulkar pitched his legspinners right up and the batsmen, even when trying to defend, found the ball almost under their bats. Harbhajan, as I said earlier, bowls a good length and does not try to pitch it full. I have no doubt that if he were to mix his wrong'uns with his offspinners and get the batsmen to drive, he would make life miserable for the South African batsmen simply because they are unable to pick him. But because he persists in pitching the ball short, it gives the batsmen ample time to pick the ball off the pitch. It's an area he needs to work on.

It was disappointing to see Jacques Kallis and Neil McKenzie worrying about the light a bit too early, after they had batted South Africa into a good position. In a similar position, Australia would have gone on the attack and helped themselves to some easy runs. To that extent Kallis and McKenzie reprieved the Indians in the final session.

But South Africa are slowly exerting control and that's something the Indians have got used to on this tour.

Sanjay Manjrekar, mainstay of the Indian batting in the late '80s and early '90s, was talking to H Natarajan.

More Session by Session
Mix it up, Harbhajan
India face another hard grind

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