Yet another boomerang.

“India to expect a trial by fire.”

“SA to go for all out pace.”

“It's the sort of pitch where if you get past the new ball it becomes a good scoring wicket.”

"It's a pretty normal Wanderers wicket."

"The only thing we were disappointed with was that although there was some bounce it was very slow."

These are some of the quotes made by the South African team management and team members before the First Test.

Make no mistake…this article is not the one that is going gaga over the Indian team’s performance in the historic test victory. That’s the job for the rest of the people of our country along with their representatives who raise the players to demi-GODS when they win and when they fail, demand for the coach’s resignation and comment on team selection. I wonder how much cricket they really understand to make such demands. They say Cricket is a religion in this country. True…very true… not only because people are cricket crazy but because people understand as little about the game as do they about religion. However…read on…

Coming back to the quotes above. Haven’t there been numerous occasions when the players of a team have come out and made such remarks against the opposition in spite of being fully aware that outcomes of sporting fixture do not recognize reputation, record and that ONLY the team that performs better on the day succeeds. This proves to be a great leveler. These sportsmen forget that it doesn’t matter what you speak, games are won on the field and not through ambitious claims made in front of the press.

The recently concluded test match isn’t the first instance when a host team has been overly keen in providing conditions not suitable for the visitors forgetting that they also have to be capable of handling the conditions. When this happens, the move backfires and presents outcomes that are often humiliating for the home side.

Looking ahead at the remainder of the tour, I believe India had a certain edge from here on. To begin with this was the one of the most unplayable pitches that one can get (at least for the first 3 days of the test). India has done well on such a track which proves to be a huge confidence booster for the batsmen. The quickies will also back themselves as they have shown that they can use the conditions to their advantage and did not get carried away by the bounce and bowl short unlike the South Africans. Another vital factor is key players like Anil Kumble and Sachin Tendulkar. Anil was the pick of the bowlers coming from the one day matches. He though has claimed 5 wickets in the test but hasn’t bowled as much as he is used to. He has looked good and has kept the batsmen guessing all the time. Sachin looked splendid in the first innings and also the three boundaries that he hit in the second, especially the way he struck them showed that he is in tremendous form. Especially the on the rise off-drive off Pollock. This just tells you that a big one is just round the corner. India has managed to pull off a victory without a major contribution from the master blaster. A ton from him at this stage can be decisive with respect to the outcome of the series.

Any team to get accustomed to foreign conditions needs to play at least 2-3 tour games before the first match and also get at least 2 weeks to acclimatize. I firmly believe that the tour game after the one days and the experience in the one days helped India greatly to put up this performance. The team has shown that they have learnt form their mistakes and stuck to the plan and had figured out exactly what was needed under these conditions and hence could deliver the goods and lets hope that they continue the good work. India should take this lesson and for all the forthcoming tours plan to arrive at the venue a fair bit in advance.

I wish the Indian team good luck for the remainder of the series and hope that this works as a morale booster for the upcoming tours and of course the World Cup next year.