By Jacques KallisIt would be wrong to begin any analysis of the Test match with anysubject other subject than Virender Sehwag's incredible triplecentury. I mentioned in a previous article how Gary Kirsten used toget into trouble with Hansie Cronje for admiring the batting of Sachintoo much while we were fielding – well, I was almost guilty of thesame 'offense'.
Of course it was a flat track for batting but that does notexplain the skill, imagination, strength and fitness to score at morethan a run a ball for nine hours. Many times I thought 'this can'tcarry on' because he was playing so many shots. Surely he would make amistake. But he didn't and I couldn't help admiring his strokeplay,especially when I wasn't bowling!
As a batting all rounder rather than a bowling all rounder I havehad plenty to say over the years about pitches which offer an unfairadvantage to bowlers and make life difficult for the batsmen, so Imust be careful what I say now. I am in favour of pitches whichprovide an even contest between bat and ball, which provide evenbounce for the batsmen but also some movement, seam or spin, for thebowlers.
Obviously this pitch did not do that. I would have been happy tobat on it on day seven! I don't know whether it was a deliberate moveor whether it was accidental, but all I would say is that it wasn'tideal. However, given the choice between playing on a 'good' pitch anda 'bad' one which is designed to produce a result quickly, I wouldstill rather play on a pitch like the one in Chepauk.
A batsman-friendly pitch makes greater demands on a team'stactical skills and, although bowlers have to work harder for theirwickets, those with the ability to deliver the most wicket-takingballs will eventually succeed. Of course, I would rather have a pitchwith plenty of pace and bounce and a bit of grass on it, but I don'tthink that's going to happen in Ahmedabad or Kanpur! Both teams now begin the process of assessing their strengths andweaknesses, both in playing terms and in fitness terms. Perhaps one orboth sides will rest a fast bowler in order to have fresh legs for thethird Test. Maybe there are a few injuries and niggles which have beenkept quiet. Two back-to-back Tests are hard enough, but three in a rowrequires a lot of forward thinking and planning.
Personally, I feel fine physically – a result, I'm disappointed tosay, of not batting long enough and taking advantage of theconditions. But at the end of five hard days I feel very much asthough honours were shared evenly. We were probably a couple of pointsahead after two days and then Viru grabbed them all back took Indiawell ahead on the third. But we had a similarly dominant day on thefourth day before the game faded away.
As pleased as I am for Hashim Amla and Neil McKenzie, both of whomscored 200+ runs, I am no different from everyone else in that I will always remember this match as 'Viru's Test.
'Hawkeye Communications / Chivach Sports