By Shamik Chakrabarty in Guwahati
Rarely do you see a knock as poor as Sai Sudharsan’s in the second innings here. India’s designated No. 3, whose inclusion in this Test forced Washington Sundar to drop down the order to No. 8, played 139 balls for 14. It wasn’t a blockathon à la AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis in Adelaide in 2012. Far from it. Not once did Sai look in control during his 159-minute stay at the crease. There was no intent, virtually no effort to rotate the strike and put the bowlers under pressure. He could have been dismissed five or six times before he was eventually removed by Senuran Muthusamy after tea. This cannot be the game of a No. 3 batsman.
As Ravindra Jadeja had predicted yesterday, the Day 5 pitch at the ACA Stadium offered a little more turn and bounce, and Harmer spun a web around the Indian batsmen to finish with 6/37 from 23 overs. Aiden Markram caught almost everything that came his way at slip to end up with nine catches in a Test, a new world record, surpassing Ajinkya Rahane’s eight. The Proteas were resplendent in their collective brilliance. A Marco Jansen blinder to dismiss Mohammed Siraj was a perfect denouement. India were 140 all out in their second innings and lost by a staggering 408 runs – the biggest defeat in terms of runs on home soil. Their Test fortune slipped into a deep, dark dungeon.
Jadeja’s half-century was the only positive. Even on this pitch, he looked comfortable, always searching for scoring opportunities. Cricket still remains a skill-based sport. Also, to paraphrase Ravi Shastri, you can’t buy experience in a supermarket.
Jadeja, in fact, was still optimistic at the press conference after the end of the fourth day’s play. He spoke about how it could be a “win-win” situation for India if they batted out three sessions on the final day of the second Test here in Guwahati. The hosts lost three wickets inside the first 65 minutes on the fifth day. Game over.
This Indian batting is so porous that it can’t even take advantage of the opportunities offered. A couple of early reprieves saw nightwatchman Kuldeep Yadav survive a dropped catch and Sai rescued by Jansen overstepping. And yet, India lost wickets at regular intervals against Harmer.
Kuldeep was the first to go, Harmer castling him with a straighter one. The off-spinner fired it a little quicker through the air and it came in with the angle to breach the batsman’s defence.
Three balls later, Dhruv Jurel gave Aiden Markram slip-catching practice, once again off Harmer. India’s makeshift No. 4 in this game in Shubman Gill’s absence, No. 5 in this innings, was fooled by the drift and then failed to read the turn, or rather the lack of it. He is never a top-order batsman. Devdutt Padikkal, a specialist No. 4, meanwhile, watched the proceedings from the dressing room.
Rishabh Pant was using his feet. He stepped out to hit a Keshav Maharaj delivery straight down the ground for six, but Harmer presented a greater degree of difficulty. Once again, the off-spinner varied his pace and extracted extra bounce off the surface. If Pant’s shot in the first innings was reckless, he fell to a beauty in the second. The delivery could have dismissed any left-hander.
Only the formalities remained after that. Saving this game was always a bridge way too far for India, and the Proteas thoroughly deserved their clean sweep. Over the last fortnight, they have beaten the hosts hands down in every aspect of the game, on and off the field.
India lost their fifth home Test in seven matches. They suffered their second home whitewash in a little over 12 months. Not having Gill is a blow for sure, but the skipper’s absence can’t be an excuse for losing back-to-back home Tests. Also, transition can’t mask the fact that India’s Test fortress has crumbled. As Cheteshwar Pujara said, there’s no transition in home series.
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