A gift for South Africa

Well this has always been the case with test matches between India and South Africa be it in India or in South Africa. So far a neutral venue for such a series has not happened. Coming to the point, this time as well, like usual India have lost the first test against South Africa which is evident from the scorecard. This is the second time in the year that the two countries are facing each other for a full fledged series that involves test, one day and T20 games. Of course, who can forget the earlier encounter this year between the two countries?

One need not be reminded the way Hashim Amla from South Africa emerged the most economical player with the bat by remaining not out in all but one occasion and needless to be said specially was awarded the man of the series. And, coming to the big occasion, this was the series where Sachin Tendulkar scored his the first double century in the history of one day or limited overs cricket. Well, past is past and in the ongoing series in South Africa, India have started on a bad note by losing the 1^st test by an innings margin. But, is this the end of all?

Bad need not be bad always for, it is the bad first that turns into good later. For more details, you can approach the cathara beneath the maskara though this has got nothing to do with yesterday's match. For onlookers, team India fared very badly especially when the margin of defeat reads an innings and 25 runs. But, I wish you think once again! India are touring South Africa which is a totally different experience considering their recent tours against Australia and New Zealand which were played at home with limited success. India should have won all three tests against new Zealand.

With the venue being new to team India, initial hiccups can be given an excuse for, the world champions Australia couldn't draw even a single match during the recently concluded Border - Gavaskar trophy. In the first innings where India scored 136, more than the South African bowling line up, it was India's newness to the country and the pitch which was evident in the second innings when India fought until the end by amassing 459 runs despite ending on the losing side. Taking the 1^st innings into consideration, India should have failed even more miserably. But, there was Dhoni, Sehwag, Gambhir and Dravid in addition to Sachin Tendulkar who showed confidence.

India did lose the match but gained a lot in terms of experience and confidence.