South Africa’s spineless capitulation

The Proteas dug in for almost nine out of the ten hours but the task was just a tad too beyond their reach

By the time the Indians declared their second innings on the fourth day of the Delhi Test, the South Africans had mentally shut shop, and after six successive nightmarish batting performances they had no chance in hell of overhauling the 481-run target.

Instead they dug in, really did, but even after ticking off almost nine out of the ten hours they had to bat, the inevitable happened, the inevitable was prolonged and awfully long but the task was just a tad too beyond even for world-class acts like Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis.



PHOTO: AFP

A few decades from now, the scorecard of South Africa’s last innings will shock the cricket fans. A total of 143 in 143.1 overs, a run-rate of 0.99 runs — easily the lowest achieved for an innings of such long duration.

Hashim Amla 25 off 244 balls, de Villiers — the world record holder for fastest ODI century — 43 off 297 balls, du Plessis 10 off 97 balls, the fans would be left dazed, especially if the same fans read the scorecard of the fifth ODI between the two teams played at Mumbai 52 days earlier, where de Villiers smashed 119 off 61 balls and du Plessis hammered 133 off 115 in a team total of 438 in 50 overs.

The same batsmen, who decimated their hosts in white-ball formats, resembled scared, battered and bruised lambs, running around for their life with the red ball spinning and jumping off the deck like a hand grenade; a spitting, venomous cobra. The ‘blockathon’ at Delhi might have been full of resolve and tenacity yet fell woefully short of an honourable defeat — India winning by 337 runs.



PHOTO: AFP

Spin was the scourge for South Africa; Ravichandran Ashwin with 31 scalps, Jadeja with 23, their tweaking deliveries impossible to resist for long. As the last rites were being administered at Feroz Shah Kotla, Umesh Yadav also joined in the fun; his boomeranging reverse swing at close to 140 kph must have made one Waqar Younis proud.

The South African meltdown was the most unlike an ICC’s top-ranked Test team for donkey’s years, even edging out England’s 2012, 0-3 surrender to Pakistan in 2012.  In the third Test of that series, England had rolled over Pakistan for 99 and their bowlers regularly held sway, but Amla’s side was hardly in the contest ever since they were scuttled for 184 on the second day of the Mohali Test.

No batsmen reached three figures; only once did a bowler manage a five-wicket haul — Imran Tahir in Nagpur — the absence of Vernon Philander and Dale Steyn — the champion fast-bowler with impeccable numbers in Asia — breaking the back of the attack and the determination of the squad.



PHOTO: AFP

South Africa’s capitulation is another one on the increasingly long list of humiliating Test defeats for touring teams in recent years.

The rigmarole of T20 cricket is having an adverse affect on teams as soon as they leave the comforts of their home conditions, with hardly any time to acclimatise to alien pitches, albeit even five more Tests in India for now could have resulted in five more defeats for the at-present tragically inept South Africans.

In today’s world, teams more adept on turning tracks resemble school boys at worst or amateurs at best on greener, bouncier tracks. Likewise, the roles are reversed for the Aussies, English etc whenever they are trialled by turn.



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South Africa were the only team that withstood the vagaries of travel around the world, before the Indian hiding, they had remained unbeaten away from home for close to ten years.

But in an era where they don’t have the services of Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis anymore, their batting line-up has some gaping holes to fill. The aging duo of Steyn and Morne Morkel isn’t expected to go on for too long while Imran’s promise rarely delivers in the longer format.

South Africa who are off to home for now have a few days to lick their wounds before they return to take the field against England on Boxing Day.



PHOTO: AFP

But the series is in their own backyard, surely there are some crumbs of comfort in there, in the days ahead we are likely to see normal service resume, meaning more tons for Amla, de Villiers and du Plessis in the Test whites, also significantly better averages than the 16.85 and 8.57 that Amla and du Plessis respectively registered in India.