SA vs IND 2018: Sunil Gavaskar Slams India For Not Playing a Practice Match

Former Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar has slammed India for not playing a practice match before the start of the three-match Test series in South Africa. The Indian team lost the first Test by 72 runs, and India’s batsmen looked at sixes and sevens in front of the African fast bowler who had the better of the famed Indian batting line up. The Indian team played a full-fledged series against Sri Lanka at home before traveling to the Rainbow nation and canceled their practice match.

The team was scheduled to play a practice game against the Board President’s XI ahead of the first Test, but they decided to cancel the match and hired a ground instead for a training session with their bowlers. Gavaskar pointed out that the Indian batsmen had problems while facing bouncers was visible.

Gavaskar said:

“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.”  

However, praised the Indian fast bowlers who took all 20 South African wickets and were able to put the match in India’s favour for some time at least.

“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,”  

The former batsman also praised the all-rounder Hardik Pandya who rescued India in the first innings by scoring a brilliant 93 and was handy with the ball as well. He said: 

“India’s catching also was superb and Kohli’s field placements spot on. 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 recognizing situations and playing accordingly,” 

Follow more news about India’s tour of South Africa 2018 here.