Bhuvneshwar Kumar and his fellow India pacers have spent a large part of the last one-and-a-half years in the shadows of the team’s spinners who ran amok through an elongated home season.
In the lead up to the South Africa series, India had chosen to use the recently-concluded three Test home series against Sri Lanka to prepare for the overseas challenges that awaited them.
The only instance when a seaming track was provided to the Indian team was during the opening Test at Eden Gardens.
It was a rare opportunity where the pacers would lead India’s charge. Bhuvneshwar led India’s attack in the game and came away with a four-wicket haul in either innings of the first Test played in the last month of 2017.
Bhuvneshwar did not play the next two Tests against Sri Lanka. He, however, played in his first Test ever in South Africa, which began in Cape Town on Friday. He celebrated the occasion with his third four-wicket haul in as many innings.
Bhuvneshwar picked up right from where he had left off in Kolkata. He took his first wicket off his very first over and followed it with scalps in each of his subsequent two overs to blow away South Africa’s top-order.
Dream spell
It was a spell that only a few Indian bowlers have been fortunate to pull off in the recent past. He bowled fiercely, yet tactfully.
He sent back both South Africa openers – Dean Elgar and Aiden Markram – before dismissing Amla.
His fourth scalp of the came at a time when South Africa had laid the foundation of a gritty recovery after Bhuvneshwar’s early heroics. He had Quiton de Kock caught behind just as South Africa had crossed the 200-run mark with six down. It was quite a climb for the hosts, who had been left reeling at 12/3 by Bhuvneshwar at one point.
While, Bhuvneshwar’s performance did not differ quite as much from his display at the Eden Gardens, what was different this time around was the lack of support from the other end.
In Kolkata, Bhuvi bowled well in tandem with fellow pacer Mohammed Shami, who had also impressed with a four-for of his own in the first innings.
In Cape Town, other than Bhuvneshwar all other pace options at skipper Virat Kohli’s disposal could contribute with just a wicket apiece. Off-spinner R Ashwin chipped with the last two wickets and a run out.
In fact, the end of Bhuvneshwar’s initial spell of seven overs, coincided with the South Africa’s recovery which was led by AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis, who added 114 runs for the fourth wicket.
While Shami sprayed the ball all over the wicket, Jasprit Bumrah, who was surprisingly given a look in ahead of seasoned fast bowlers – Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma – could not quite lead the South African batsmen out of their comfort zone. Bumrah did pick up the prized scalp of De Villiers on his debut, but could not quite help India snuff out the opposition’s resistance.
Bhuvneshwar could have had a fifth wicket, but a dropped catch by Shikhar Dhawan in slips denied him the feat.
Extra 30 runs
Bhuvneshwar’s was a masterclass in swing bowling. His steady line and length should have been a good indicator for the rest of his fellow bowlers to follow. However, none could replicate his disciplined approach.
Bhuvneshwar admitted after the game that the bowling attack gave away 30 runs too many as South Africa reached 286 in their first innings despite him three wickets.
“If we want to be hard on ourselves then, yes, we did give away a few too many runs to South Africa. I think they scored 25-30-odd extra runs. In every hour of play, there were two-to-three overs where we gave away easy boundaries. That is an area we can improve on,” Bhuvneshwar was quoted as saying.
Not only did India struggle to keep the runs in check, they allowed the South African batsmen to score at a rate of over four runs an over.
“During the break, we were talking about bringing the run-rate down because in Test cricket four runs per over is a lot. This is something we want to improve when we bowl in the second innings,” Bhuvneshwar said.
In the context of the match, the “extra 30 runs” and the rate at which they were scored shifted the momentum out of India’s hands. That South Africa then managed to pick up three Indian wickets before close of play further titled the advantage in their favour.
India’s inability to kill off the challenge highlighted a few shortcomings.
Flawed gameplan
The team management’s decision to pick Bumrah ahead of Umesh or Ishant, in hindsight, seems to have not paid the same dividends as it was expected to.
With pace, bounce and swing on offer in abundance, the decision to not use experienced bowlers seemed ill-advised.
India’s bowlers just managed to get one yorker in the entire day.
The ploy to bowl short to the South African tail also proved ineffective and allowed the tail to wag and stretch the score close to 300.
Bhuvneshwar explained that bowling short to the tail was part of the plan.
“It was a strategy to get them out. In the first two sessions, we didn’t bowl short at all. In the third session, we wanted to get them out quickly and it was part of our planning,” he said.
The plan was clearly being applied without any practice in real match conditions. A warm-up match would have been an ideal place to have tested the ploy before the first game, but alas it wasn’t to be.
After winning the toss and electing to bat first, South Africa must have aimed to score around 400. At 12/3, their desired target would have been much lower. At that stage, they would have taken the 286, if offered.
India on the other hand will rue not killing off the South African fightback.
While, Bhuvneshwar showed the way for rest, a lack of support from his teammates undid all the work he put in early in the day.
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