Cricket India
Team India which has certainly taken a more precautious approach at the moment, by protecting its key as well as injured players, would be hoping that the young guns do a little better in Johannesburg than what they did in Durban.
India lost the first match against South Africa by a mammothian 135 run deficit not only due to its poor bowling performance but also because of their failure to put in a fight with their batting. Although India lacked players like Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir both of whom have done considerably well for India yet players like Murali Vijay, Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina were a part of the team.
All three of them who have been paid millions in the IPL could not prove their true worth in the first match. This is not to say that they are not good players as they are a part of the playing eleven for their proved talent.
The only person to have played well in the last match from India was Virat Kohli and India would be hoping that not just him but all its top 6 batsmen do well.
India’s bowling department too has taken quite a setback with the injuries of Praveen Kumar and Sreesanth. Although Praveen has already come back home Sreesanth is still rehabilitating in South Africa and might play the second ODI on 15th.
One of the key problems , if any, for India is that none of its fast bowlers at the moment is able to bowl at the 140 kph mark and simultaneously swing the ball. In the truest sense India’s bowling attack has medium pacers and not fast bowlers. However to their credit the bowlers can swing the ball both ways with the aid of conditions that might help them.
However its well known that the pitches in the sub-continent do not support fast bowling. Thus even though the Indian bowlers might bowl well in the favorable South African pitches in the coming matches, they would find it very difficult to take wickets in the Indian conditions.
India would have to do the thinking on what their top fifteen would be and do it very soon, for the World Cup as the team is going to be announced on the 17th of January.
Tags: Cricket, Cricket India, India, Indian Cricket, Johannesburg, ODI Match, ODI Series, South Africa, Team India
