Star Material

It all began with the toss and I could sense the hand of Greg Chappell in it.It is typical of the Australians to bat first when confronted with conditions asit existed in the first Test at the Wanderers. They like to seize the bull bythe horn, avoid batting last and importantly if they have a quality spinner anda good seam attack, to go for the jugular.

I could sense where it was coming from: the Indians must have thought if theycould put up 250 or 270 on the board, they would be in the game.

I must confess though I was extremely surprised when I learnt of India'soption to take first strike. There wasn't anything about their batting in thepreceding games to suggest that this kind of confidence was still running intheir veins and that too for an awkward pitch.

I spoke to Rahul Dravid a day later and he confessed he did not want to puthis side for that kind of test in the fourth innings.

The Indians stood the test of fire and quite a few played a critical hand.They, however, were put on course for 250 by the resilience of the lower halfand Sourav Ganguly squeezed the maximum out of the tail, no less from VRV Singhwhose plucky effort was the kind of knock which shifts the momentum of the gamecritically.

The Indians from then on were very much on.

Sreesanth was the star for India and I have rarely seen anybody, from thedays of Richard Hadlee and Kapil Dev, to have the seam so still on its way tothe batsmen. His release is also exceptional and if he can do so regularly hewould always be a threat. More so on a pitch such as Wanderers.

I chanced to meet him during the Test and he appeared just the bloke I sensedhim to be. He asked the right questions and much of it was about the mental sideof the game. We talked about the visualisation, stuff like imagining the nickgoing to the wicketkeeper and all. It wasn't as if he did not know about it --he had been spoken to on similar lines by Dennis Lillee before and I might justhave reconfirmed his impression.

From the South African perspective, they did not respect India enough andIndia rammed down their throat the message in emphatic style. Graeme Smith andhis men were secure in the presumption that it would be a one-sided affair. Itwould be interesting to see how they recover from the traumatic experience.

Nothing was right about their batting or bowling. The batting was in shamblesand the query must start with the openers itself: Smith and Herschelle Gibbs.That the selectors haven't gone for a change represents a big vote of confidencefor the two but doubts about their form are creeping up all the time.

It was a mistake for the batsmen not to have gone to their franchises andplayed between the one-dayers and the Test and the same was true for theirbowlers. Makhaya Ntini and the likes appeared very rusty and could have donewith a stint with their home units.

It would be interesting to see how the South Africans approach the secondTest at Kingsmead on Boxing Day. Smith's personal choice of course would be aflat pitch and even I would doubt if it would be a green surface.

Kingsmead has always afforded bounce though in recent times it has periodswhen it goes absolutely flat. It's a Hobson's Choice really for the hosts asthey would also hate to go to Newlands in Cape Town without having drawn level.I can sense though that there wouldn't be as much moisture on the pitch inKingsmead as was the case at the Wanderers.

Be that as it may, the series has truly come alive. Such are the gloriousuncertainties of the game about which legends abound.

But for Australia, I doubt if any other visiting side has caused as muchtremor in the Proteas' ranks as the Indians have done now. It would now be atest of character for both, may be more for Smith and his men.

PTI