One of the most talked about aspects in the lead up to the second Test between South Africa and India at the Centurion was how the teams would line up. India’s selection was more under scrutiny after the batting collapse in the first Test.
However, selection blunders continued in the second test as well, as Virat Kohli made three changes. He dropped Bhuvneshwar Kumar for the more experienced Ishant Sharma and also brought in Parthiv Patel for Wriddhiman Saha, who became the keeper with the most dismissals in Test match in Cape Town with a hand in 10 wickets, and KL Rahul for Shikhar Dhawan.
Kumar, was particularly instrumental in helping India save some embarrassment in the first innings of the Cape Town test, when he not only broke the back of the South African batting line up with some top notch seam bowling but also because he held fort and made a big contribution with the bat while batting alongside Hardik Pandya.
In another strange decision, Rohit Sharma once again managed to convince team management that he is good enough to play test cricket!
In his last 20 innings, Rohit has managed to score only two half centuries, whereas Rahane has 7 half centuries and 4 tons in 29 innings outside Asia. At one glance, these numbers make more than a case for Rahane.
There is more to this than what meets the eye because Rahane’s form and performance outside of Asian conditions has been nothing short of outstanding. The right hander, who has scored a ton and a half century in his last three innings has not only played more than a 100 deliveries on each occasion, but also averages more than the likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Rahul Dravid, Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar outside of the subcontinent.
Legends like Allan Donald and Virender Sehwag also blasted Virat Kohli and Team management for selection disaster.
More importantly, it shows that Team India’s thinking outside Asia is still muddled. When the conditions favours them, they prosperes and take right decisions. But when things doesn’t turn up their way, they used to get wrong in everything!
