This was intended to be a fixture that prepared India’s Test players for the upcoming two-match series against South Africa. Instead, a few of them will head to Kolkata, having dealt psychological blows as India A, having set a target of 417 runs, haplessly watched South Africa A get home with five wickets to spare at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence on Sunday.
Although South Africa have only Temba Bavuma and Zubayur Hamza who will join the Test squad ahead of the first Test, India do have more than a handful – KL Rahul, B Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep – in the mix. While Jurel definitely made the most of this outing, scoring centuries in each innings and thereby making a strong case for a place in the XI, there are now a few headaches for India’s think-tank when they land in Kolkata.
While there will be deliberations around Sai Sudharsan and Jurel, wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav will definitely be top of their concerns. Having not played during the England tour, Kuldeep started the home Test season against West Indies on a strong note, including a five-wicket haul in the second Test at Kotla. Then he was sent home mid-way from the Australia tour to play in the second four-day fixture against South Africa A in preparation for the Tests. And in the two innings combined, he had only one wicket to show, as he went wicketless on the final day. On a pitch, which had good grass cover when the match began, and got better for batting on dead grass all over the strip, the conditions were definitely not in favour of spinners. But what can’t be overlooked is how helpless Kuldeep was made to feel in the middle when South Africa’s top-order Jordan Hermann (91), Lesego Senokwane (77), Hamza (77) and Bavuma (59) got going.
Though the pitch had eased out, chasing a steep target is never easy. But full credit to South Africa for the way they went about their chase without breaking much sweat. On this pitch, the first session was always going to be crucial as wickets with the new ball could severely dent any hopes of survival, let alone the chase. Instead, Hermann and Senokwane ensured India remained wicketless in the morning session. Though the seamers Siraj, Akash and Prasidh did bowl probing spells, the batters had the answers as they stitched a 156-run stand for the first wicket. Perhaps, with an eye on the Test, the intensity levels of Siraj and Akash didn’t appear to be top-notch, but still they gave it all before Prasidh provided them the breakthrough.
That, though, hardly made a difference as Hamza walked in and effortlessly pressed along to keep India in the leather hunt. Having gone at over four runs an over in the first session, India pulled things back, conceding only 80 runs in the 24 overs post lunch while accounting for the wickets of the openers. In the last session, South Africa put their front foot forward, signalling their intention to go for the chase. With Pant taking rest, Sai Sudharsan stood in as captain and India’s attack struggled to stream the run flow after Siraj went off the field. Harsh Dubey tried his best to play a restricting role, but found little success as the South African batsmen used the sweep to good effect. By the time the final hour began, the result seemed only a formality.
The drooping shoulders of Kuldeep told a story. With India preferring all-round spin options in Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar overseas, Kuldeep’s opportunities have been limited to home Tests. And Bavuma, who will be captaining the Proteas, had a good view of how his batsmen tackled the spinner, a homework that he would definitely pass on to his teammates. They never let Kuldeep settle into a rhythm in either innings. Of course, the slow black soil decks in Eden Gardens would be in total contrast to the one played in Bengaluru. But South Africa A have landed some important blows to India’s Test regulars before the series.
Brief scores: India A 255 & 382/7d lost to 221 & 417/5 (Jordan Hermann 91, Lesego Senokwane 77, Zubayr Hamza 77, Temba Bavuma 59) by 5 wickets.
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