Unlike Sohail Tanveer: Former opener Aakash Chopra believes the Indian team is never interested in complaining about playing on tough pitches, saying that the bad pitches have brought the best out of Rohit Sharma & Co.
After suffering a defeat by an innings and 32 runs against South Africa inside three days in Centurion, India bounced back with a seven-wicket victory on a tricky pitch which always had inconsistent bounce and excessive seam movement. The win is also India’s first victory in Cape Town in seven attempts and also managed to level the two-match series at 1-1.
“When a Test match lasts one-and-a-half days, there are some fallouts. There has been some talk surrounding the pitch. Some questions have been asked. India have never complained about the quality of the pitches on offer. Last time, the Wanderers pitch was really bad. Honestly, some player could have got hurt on it. This pitch at Cape Town, too, was bad.
“India still focused on the game and didn’t complain. I remember that pitch at Perth (Australia) too. And it was really bad. You can’t justify a pitch where a ball takes off from good length and goes past the keeper’s head. Even there, India didn’t say anything.
“They just competed and showed fighting spirit. In fact, when the pitch is bad, it somehow brings the best out of the Indian team. I feel neither pitches like these nor the dust bowls in India are good for the game. It’s just not right for a game of cricket,” said Chopra on the ‘#AAKASHVANI’ show on JioCinema.
In the series, fast-bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah marked a successful return to Test cricket by taking 12 wickets and was declared the joint winner of the Player of the Series award. Chopra also explained what makes Bumrah so special.
“There are multiple reasons why Bumrah bowls so well. The first one is his unique action. He does not have a slingy action like Lasith Malinga. He does not have an action like Paul Adams’ frog-in-the-blender. Unlike Sohail Tanveer, he does not bowl on the wrong foot. So, what’s different? There’s a point in his action when both his hands are in front of his chest.”
“A batsman’s mind is generally not trained for an action like this. They are accustomed to facing bowlers whose hands move like a wheel: when one hand is coming up, the other is going down. That’s something batsmen find difficult to deal with as they have to make decisions within a fraction of a second.”
“The other thing about his action is he braces his foot very well. That helps him achieve the maximum height as possible while bowling. Other bowlers bend their leg slightly before release. That takes some pace off the ball.”
“But Bumrah braces his knee so well that he’s able to generate extra pace. His point of release is so late that he gets an advantage. That apart, he’s quick and has got that zip. That’s why he’s a national asset.”
Chopra also thinks pacer Prasidh Krishna missed a chance to cement a spot in the Test team in South Africa. Debuting in the format, Prasidh took only two wickets in the series and struggled to find a consistent line and length in helpful conditions.
“I feel it’s a missed opportunity for him. That’s because pace bowlers like him get very few chances to bowl on a pitch like this. India last played a Test series in the West Indies and will face England next at home.”
“He had the opportunity to establish himself as a fast bowler on this tour. But I think he has missed the bus. He looked under-cooked and is still a work-in-progress.”
Chopra also signed off by expressing his opinion on batters being aggressive at Cape Town. “Be it Kohli, Markram, Gill or Rohit. Whoever looked aggressive had a better chance of scoring here. There was no guarantee, but luck too came into play.”
“Once a batsman displays an aggressive intent, their feet begin moving well and they latch on to every scoring opportunity. If one enters a survival mode on pitches like these it becomes very difficult to succeed.”