SOUTH AFRICA VS INDIA 3RD TEST
INDIA'S TOUR OF SOUTH AFRICA,3RD TEST 2018
Footwork key as India hunt for overseas success formula
Another touring Indian side has lost a series in South Africa. A lot has been talked and written about the preparations, and the lack of it, before they landed in South Africa, the selection calls that the team management has made. Many might say the Indian side fought hard against the hosts and the conditions on offer. India could have won one or even both Tests. But they didn't, and now find themselves on the verge of a first ever whitewash loss in the African country.
Any single factor cannot be pointed at for the position India find themselves in. The bowlers have to be applauded for taking 20 wickets in both Tests. But the same cannot be said of India's batting or fielding. Looking at India's batting performances in the series, it's tough for one not to mention the lackadaisical way in which some of them got out in the second Test. However, there is case for one to dig deeper and look at things from a more technical standpoint.
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| The lack of footwork from India's batsman was underlined quite dark in the first two Tests. © BCCI |
On both tracks, the lack of footwork from India's batsman was underlined quite dark.
Both tracks demanded that the batsmen play the ball close to the body, right under the eyes. That would be a more straightforward thing to do when the ball is pitched right up, or when it's headed straight towards you with no sideways movement. To be able to do it when the ball is moving around, good, confident footwork becomes imperative.
Looking closer at the dismissals of the Indian batsmen, the issues can be clearly seen in the cases of Rohit Sharma, Murali Vijay and KL Rahul. Compare this with what Virat Kohli did during his epic knock of 153 in the first innings at Centurion and the difference starts to emerge. Even though South Africa's pacers where racking up the pace, Kohli was able to get his foot out, get his head over the ball and execute the shot he wanted to.
There's very little time to react against such skillful and pacey bowlers, so it would be unfair to just appraise that the batsmen totally lacked footwork. But, however tough the conditions where, and however slanted the questions would have felt, the batsmen needed to figure out the responses and the answers. Only Kohli, AB de Villiers and to an extent Faf du Plessis have managed to do it so far.
In the modern era, cricket lays almost all the importance on the head position. Rightly so, the head position is paramount because it works as the camera for the body, it grabs information from the bowler - his delivery stride, the ball, its seam, the pace it's coming down at, the angle it's bringing with it, the spin on it, or the swing. However, if a good head position is not followed by proper footwork, it becomes very dangerous.
Both tracks demanded that the batsmen play the ball close to the body, right under the eyes. That would be a more straightforward thing to do when the ball is pitched right up, or when it's headed straight towards you with no sideways movement. To be able to do it when the ball is moving around, good, confident footwork becomes imperative.
Looking closer at the dismissals of the Indian batsmen, the issues can be clearly seen in the cases of Rohit Sharma, Murali Vijay and KL Rahul. Compare this with what Virat Kohli did during his epic knock of 153 in the first innings at Centurion and the difference starts to emerge. Even though South Africa's pacers where racking up the pace, Kohli was able to get his foot out, get his head over the ball and execute the shot he wanted to.
There's very little time to react against such skillful and pacey bowlers, so it would be unfair to just appraise that the batsmen totally lacked footwork. But, however tough the conditions where, and however slanted the questions would have felt, the batsmen needed to figure out the responses and the answers. Only Kohli, AB de Villiers and to an extent Faf du Plessis have managed to do it so far.
In the modern era, cricket lays almost all the importance on the head position. Rightly so, the head position is paramount because it works as the camera for the body, it grabs information from the bowler - his delivery stride, the ball, its seam, the pace it's coming down at, the angle it's bringing with it, the spin on it, or the swing. However, if a good head position is not followed by proper footwork, it becomes very dangerous.
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