South Africa comfortably defeated India by 72 runs in the 1st Test match in New Lands, Cape Town. The Proteas now lead the 3-match Test series 1-0. The target was small and was well within India’s reach and yet a flop show with the bat handed Faf and co. an easy win going into the 2nd Test match in Centurion which starts on Saturday (Jan 13).
After showing so much of success at home, Indian cricket fans couldn’t digest this defeat and took Twitter to respond in a harsh way (mostly). I have compiled some of the tweets after India’s defeat in the 1st Test. Anil Kumble was India’s National Team coach before getting controversially dropped in June last year. Ravi Shastri has replaced his position since then.
Why can't bcci sack @RaviShastriOfc and bring @anilkumble1074 as coach if virat don't obide to coach decision sack @imVkohli also there can't be whom and fancies nation comes first
— jobless indian (@madhavanarasani) January 10, 2018
We feel that just a defeat in a single Test match wouldn’t be enough to sack a national coach but we feel this comment was made mostly out of the frustration after failing to chase down a one of the simplest targets! India could make a comeback in the Test series going forward, who knows!
Many were upset just after the announcement of India’s playing XI in the first Test with the omission of Rahane who is heavily successful in overseas conditions.
The inclusion of Rohit ahead of Rahane created all the stir for which Indian captain Virat Kohli clarified after losing the match that current form (in the home series and against Sri Lanka) was taken into consideration for the playing XI selection.
Koi baat nahin @ImRo45 call srilanka again and make 200. Please avoid foreign tours specially for test matches. Srilanka aur bangladesh aayegi aapke liye. @imVkohli @BishanBedi @BCCIdomestic @BCCI @RaviShastriOfc @GautamGambhir@SDhawan25 @virendersehwag
— अमित कुमार (@kumaramit002) January 10, 2018
Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan had a shaky start too and was dismissed off short deliveries. The worst part of those dismissals was that he was not even aware where the ball was after awkwardly managing to hit it. That clearly showed his inability to handle short balls on pacy tracks!
Some of the fans wanted a replacement at the top of the order after two very poor starts in this low scoring game. This has actually created pressure on the batsmen to follow, exposing them to the new ball very quickly.
We need Rahul, Rahane, Parthiv and Ishant for the clueless Vijay, Rohit, Saha and redundant Ashwin @ Wanderers. No place for spinners so our best bet is pace. They'll have Morris to replace Steyn and that means more steep bounce on a real hot track. @RaviShastriOfc
— Ashish Mullick (@ImAshishMullick) January 10, 2018
The debate hasn’t just stopped with Dhawan and Rohit but also pulled in the one who had a great Test match with the gloves behind the stumps. It was the greatest Test match of Saha’s career with the gloves, taking a record breaking 11 catches but had a very poor show with the bat in both the innings.
Saha had some success in West Indies and Sri Lanka but his inability to play on pacy tracks has come into the limelight in the first Test match. Parthiv needs to be considered as someone opined!
@@RaviShastriOfc @imVkohli wriddiman saha is not good pic for fast pitches. pelase consider parthiv……saha is not fit for fast pitches….
— imchinna (@Chinnarao1980) January 10, 2018
But it’s a fact that Saha wont be replaced any time soon as he is considered the no.1 wicket keeper in India at the moment. The commentators kept on saying this single statement multiple times during the match. Not actually sure who certified this though!
It’s true that India have multiple questions ahead of them before taking field in the next Test match. Lets hope India goes with a better combination and can make a comeback in this series!
