India lost the Motera Test before the start
Last Updated on
Sunday, April 06, 2008, 20:48
IST
India lost the second Test against South Africa by a huge margin of an innings and 90 runs. After being shot out for a paltry 76 in the first innings, the home team were unable to restrict the Proteas, who put up a mammoth 494 runs on the board to put India out of the game. The Indians were completely outplayed in every department of the game.
India’s humiliating loss has drawn strong reactions from cricket experts and former players around the world. We at
Zeecric.com bring to you a few expert views.
Former India spinner Maninder Singh termed the loss as embarrassing. Criticising India’s negative attitude before the start of the Ahmedabad Test, Singh said, “India lost the game before the start of the match when they argued with the curator to shave off the grass from the pitch. We tend to think too much about the pitch and let the real thing slip off our mind”.
When asked about India’s selection policy for the game at Motera, Singh emphasised that spin bowling has always been India’s strength and that we should never forget that.
“Spin is our strength and we should play to it. At a time when the South African’s had lost four wickets, another spinner gunning at them would have been extremely helpful”, Singh added.
Former India pacer Javagal Srinath put the loss a good lesson for the bowlers. Talking to a news channel, Srinath said, “It was a good lesson for the bowlers. Bowling in conditions which are conducive to your style of bowling is different from performing in conditions which are not helpful”.
“The Indian bowlers have played a lot of one day cricket in recent times and that is one of the major reasons why they were found wanting when it came to performing in the more testing Test match conditions”, Srinath added.