Repurcussions for India for failing to beat a very weak South African team?

[Savak]

This was India led by their greatest test captain in history

This was the greatest Indian pace attack in history who had the benefit of enjoying juicy, pacy tracks of South Africa

This was a team which had unlimited BCCI, IPL finances

This was a team with players who had plenty of experience and knowledge of South African conditions

This was a team which had won the first test match and enjoyed a 1-0 lead in the series

This was perhaps the weakest South African batting line up in South African history

This was not the strongest South African bowling attack in history

And yet this Indian team could not conquer Fortress South Africa

What good is all the IPL, BCCI money for? What Good are all the numerous A tours for? What good is all that unparalleled investment in Indian domestic cricket, Indian academies for?

Indians ko Sharam se doob ke mar jana chahiye

 

[Varun]

Rahane has most certainly played his final test.

Pujara might get another chance.

Vihari might get a solid run in the middle order.

 

[Savak]

Rahane has most certainly played his final test.

Pujara might get another chance.

Vihari might get a solid run in the middle order.

No repurcussions for Kohli? I would like to see his batting averages being compared with these guys as well. He can't play in the team as a specialist captain alone

 

[Rana]

Kohli needs to go as captain

It’s not working out for him at all.

 

[Cricfan4eva]

What good is all the IPL, BCCI money for? What Good are all the numerous A tours for? What good is all that unparalleled investment in Indian domestic cricket, Indian academies for?

Indians ko Sharam se doob ke mar jana chahiye

Nah not really man. I can see you're plenty excited with the result though, so have your time in the sun.

To the point, we're a stable team that needs middle order changes. And we have a few options already. So it should be a seamless shift with Vihari, Iyer coming in for Pujara and Rahane.

 

[Varun]

No repurcussions for Kohli? I would like to see his batting averages being compared with these guys as well. He can't play in the team as a specialist captain alone

Kohli won't be dropped. In spite of everything that has happened he still averages 50+ and is a decent captain.

Home series vs the likes of Lanka and West Indies will help him regain his form. He looked very good in this 3rd test just now also.

 

[Bull]

India won all the tosses in these conditions yet their bowling could not win them the matches.

 

[Amjid Javed]

India series Defeat in SA - Where did it go wrong?

So we keep hearing from the chest thumping, bhangra dancing Indian fans that this is the Greatest ever Asian test side.

The so called greatest Asian captain
The so called greatest ever fast bowling attack
The so called greatest ever wicket keeper batsmen in the history of the game

This was the weakest ever SA team since they came back in 1992, No world class test batsmen, a novice batting line up, a tail that started at number 6.

Last time we heard SA only won series because of green wickets. SA won crucial tosses.

So what are the excuses this time? India won all 3 tosses and lost.

Reasons for series loss?

 

[BunnyRabbit]

End of Rahane's Test career probably.
1 or 2 more series for Pujara I guess.

 

[gani999]

End of Rahane's Test career probably.
1 or 2 more series for Pujara I guess.

Don't see why Pujara should get 1 or 2 more series. He has been pretty worthless averaging 24 something for nearly two years now. He should be sent back to FC to regain his form.

Enough of the Rahane - Pujara long rope nonsense. Vihari and Shreyas Iyer should be brought in right away.

 

[Extra_Cover]

Given India has tests lined up against Sri Lankan team in India next we would most likely see some new faces.

I can foresee Rahane being dropped whilst Kohli and Pujara would be "rested" against Sri Lankans. Similarly Bumrah and Shami would be rested given they would not want to bowl their main pacers on dust bowls.

I don't think Kohli would lose captaincy though because he is already too big a personality to be booted out, he would walk out himself. To be honest on the basis of the past 2 years Kohli as a player should not make it into the Indian team, he only makes it as captain (where he has impact on the game).

The next series I'm expecting India to win 2-0 against the Lankans but at same time I do not think preparation of dustbowls would be the way to go for that series.

 

[gani999]

Reasons for series loss?

Two well known and complacent passengers in the batting lineup.

 

[90MPH]

India squandered a golden opportunity to win in SA.

They should be kicking themsleves because they were never going to get an easier chance.

This was a very inexperienced SA side in both departments but kudos to them for performing well.

However India can not under any circumstances claim they are a great Test side. They are a very good Test team but certainly not one of the greats like Australia or WI of the previous decades.

 

[GLORY OF '92]

Golden period for India is over now. Pakistan and SA will rise.

Hope the Indian lads enjoyed it the rides gonna be rough from here on in.

 

[Ab Fan]

Pujara and Rahane have to leave now. You have good enough young players who belong at this league but they need to be given enough time for development.

It can't be that all of Rohit, Kohli, Pujara, Rahane, Shami, Ashwin and Jadeja leave together.

It is simple. Pujara and Rahane have to leave now. Ashwin should not play any more away from home.

 

[Abhilash93]

Don't think the SA team is as weak as being made out here, especially their bowling attack. Rabada, Olivier, Ngidi are quite a handful in these conditions and the 6'9 left armer Marco Jansen is the find of the series.

Of course, India's batting has been plagued by Pujara/Rahane being passengers and Rohit missing out due to injury.

 

[Savak]

The Indian selectors have surprisingly been very soft on Pujara and Rahane for a long time now.

 

[MenInG]

Thread is about.....India.

 

[cricketjoshila]

Rahane and Pujara are done.

Play Mayank at 3. Iyer at 5

Vihari will be another Pujara. He has limited shots and kills the momentum.

Groom gill and show for no.3 and 5

 

[MenInG]

The same players did well before. No need for knee-jerk.

 

[Mobashir]

Captain has to change.
Rahane as surely played his last test. And you Imagine it's the same for Pujara.

 

[Civil]

Certainly rahane is done.

 

[cricketjoshila]

The same players did well before. No need for knee-jerk.

Rahane avgs 32 in last 52 tests. He doesn't deserve to be in the side, not withstanding his occasional brilliance and playing a match winning knock.

 

[London_Lahori]

Losing to this SA team, very poor. I guess there’s a home series around the corner for India to build morale back up for.

 

[sam_ahm]

Nothing much guys, i think the axe will fall on Pujara and Rahane and probably rightly so. Apart from that I do not see many changes.

We also have to see how these youngsters Iyer, Gill, Padikkal, etc perform in the long run. Let's see.

Next series is a home series against SLN which should be an easy one. I don't expect mine fields in that series, India will be wary of Sri Lankan spinners who can also exploit such wickets. So I'm expecting some good batting wickets for that series and india will back their bowlers to come good.

 

[Hasan]

One thing becoming clear from the recent series (Aus v Eng and Ind v SA) is the fact that home advantage should not be underestimated. It also shows that no one side is so great that they overcome the home advantage factor. I also believe that the big three are classified as such because of their economic power and not their cricketing ability.

India test side will need to rebalance their side with fresh strategy and personal but they have significant bench strength to continue to be powerhouse. For SA this is a significant boost and shows they have the core for a very competitive side going forward.

These developments sets up the Pak v Aus service to be a very interesting prospect.

 

[shaz619]

This is hardly surprising, India were heavily over rated by their cheer leaders and now back down to earth. First step for the team and their fans will be to recognise how fragile they are mentally and only then they will be able to move forward.

 

[nam]

All were close games. SA showed grit and determination to bounce back. It was their backyard. India has no reason to be ashamed about anything. Winning is not everything. Wanting to win is and Kohli and his men did whatever they could so hard luck but well played.

 

[happydavy]

No complaints with Kohli, he's done everything right but he can't win matches with useless players like Pujara, Rahane and Ashwin. All 3 have been so overrated that one look at the stats, not for 1 or 2 years but their entire career and you would how miserable they always have been outside Asia. Pujara averages under 30 in 4 of the 6 countries he has toured, Rahane averages mid 30s overall and Ashwin's record in SENA countries makes you wonder how right Kohli and Shastri were to not play him any match in England.

 

[sam_ahm]

All were close games. SA showed grit and determination to bounce back. It was their backyard. India has no reason to be ashamed about anything. Winning is not everything. Wanting to win is and Kohli and his men did whatever they could so hard luck but well played.

Agreed all were close games but in the end South Africa won the 2nd and 3rd test by 7 wickets. They were without Nortje and De Kock retired mid way.

India need to re look at the batting line up. Every now and then they find themselves at 100/5, even in the recent home series against NZL it was the case. India won at Lords because of some batting heriocs from Shami and Bumrah. Also Thakur many times has pulled India out of difficult situations with the bat.

So overall India's top 6 are gonna face the heat and they better scale up.

 

[Cricfan4eva]

Agreed all were close games but in the end South Africa won the 2nd and 3rd test by 7 wickets. They were without Nortje and De Kock retired mid way.

India need to re look at the batting line up. Every now and then they find themselves at 100/5, even in the recent home series against NZL it was the case. India won at Lords because of some batting heriocs from Shami and Bumrah. Also Thakur many times has pulled India out of difficult situations with the bat.

So overall India's top 6 are gonna face the heat and they better scale up.

I think we need to look at these performances in context not just on paper.

Pujara's grit is what made Gill/Pant's innings count in those famous draw/wins. Here as well Pujara seems to finding his groove, but you can say he probably came up against some hostile bowling on hostile pitch. I'd give him one more series.

Rahane, yes, it's not technique then it's mental but even he knows he needs to go.

I feel Pujara and Kohli need to drop a place down, they right now come too early to face the new ball and maybe they're in that stages of their career where they need to tweak where they play.

Rohit
KL/Mayank
Vihari
Pujara
Kohli
Pant
Jadeja
Thakur

I think what we're missing is that Jadeja wasn't available this series. Him at 7 instead of Ashwin would've made a major difference. Crucial 40-60 more runs and you never know.

 

[Artaxerxes]

The greatest Asian side with the greatest bowling attack in history could not beat a weak and experienced SA side.The best T20 team flopped in T20 WC too.Don’t get me wrong Indian team is good but it is not the greatest Asian team nor is the bowling attack the greatest.

 

[Babeikh]

Maybe this South African team isn't that weak? Especially at home

 

[Pakhs]

Agreed all were close games but in the end South Africa won the 2nd and 3rd test by 7 wickets. They were without Nortje and De Kock retired mid way.

India need to re look at the batting line up. Every now and then they find themselves at 100/5, even in the recent home series against NZL it was the case. India won at Lords because of some batting heriocs from Shami and Bumrah. Also Thakur many times has pulled India out of difficult situations with the bat.

So overall India's top 6 are gonna face the heat and they better scale up.

They won the last 2 games quit easily tbh? They had plenty of wickets remaining.

 

[The Googly]

The following players are NOT at their peak. Does not mean they are not good still. It means they will unlikely improve from their current level:

- Rohit Sharma
- Pujara
- Kohli
- Ashwin
- Rahane
- Bumrah
- Shami
- Ishant

 

[pillionrider]

This was perhaps the weakest South African batting line up in South African history

You are terribly wrong about this. Just watch what some of the no-names from their batting lineup go on to accomplish

 

[Justcrazy]

The Indian selectors have surprisingly been very soft on Pujara and Rahane for a long time now.

They are not ordinary players , they have good record in Test Matches , its tough to drop such players .

 

[Ab Fan]

No complaints with Kohli, he's done everything right but he can't win matches with useless players like Pujara, Rahane and Ashwin. All 3 have been so overrated that one look at the stats, not for 1 or 2 years but their entire career and you would how miserable they always have been outside Asia. Pujara averages under 30 in 4 of the 6 countries he has toured, Rahane averages mid 30s overall and Ashwin's record in SENA countries makes you wonder how right Kohli and Shastri were to not play him any match in England.

Makes us wonder why Kohli never dropped Pujara and Rahane, who were awful for so long.

 

[PakEngFan]

The Indian selectors have surprisingly been very soft on Pujara and Rahane for a long time now.

They are most likely the best in the country hence keep getting picked.

 

[Ab Fan]

They are most likely the best in the country hence keep getting picked.

Washington Sundar as specialist batsman is better than them let alone some of the other names who have proved themselves in a few minimal chances they have got.

 

[MP2011]

Makes us wonder why Kohli never dropped Pujara and Rahane, who were awful for so long.

He didn't drop the duo because he himself is equally woeful for so long now.

On top of that his stubbornness in playing 5 bowlers in all conditions, simply not tenable for a pathetic batting side like us.

 

[PakEngFan]

Washington Sundar as specialist batsman is better than them let alone some of the other names who have proved themselves in a few minimal chances they have got.

Players on bench always looks better then the players in playing 11 .Have seen him play not better then them at all.

 

[Ab Fan]

Players on bench always looks better then the players in playing 11 .Have seen him play not better then them at all.

He won us Gabba, our greatest test win.

 

[PakEngFan]

He won us Gabba, our greatest test win.

Yes based on 1 innings he’s better. I rest my case.

 

[Ab Fan]

He didn't drop the duo because he himself is equally woeful for so long now.

On top of that his stubbornness in playing 5 bowlers in all conditions, simply not tenable for a pathetic batting side like us.

It doesn't matter if Kohli was woeful or not. Nobody in their right mind would have raised questions on his place in the team.

But for the benefit of the team, he should have taken the big decision of dropping one of them firstly, perhaps somewhere in the England tour last year and replace him with the other feasible options available. Gill, Vihari, Iyer, Washington- that's four names right there.

 

[Ab Fan]

Yes based on 1 innings he’s better. I rest my case.

Decider in Ahmedabad Test too, has an average of 66 currently and obviously in recent form, even a 36 average is enough to outperform Pujara and Rahane. Also, don't forget Gill, Vihari, Iyer and Mayank. Vihari got 60 runs in one test in this series at average of 60, Pujara and Rahane got 125 and 135 runs over 3 tests and their laughable averages of mid 20s over last 3 years in all conditions only strengthen my point.