South Africa vs India Test series 2013-14: 7 things Team India learned on this tour

Mohamed Shami has been rather impressive

Mohamed Shami’s performances in his tender Test career is promising to say the least. He has burst on to the scene as someone, who has a completely different pedigree compared to other Indian fast bowlers. He has pace, runs in hard, rattles the batsman with a vicious bouncer and has a complete repertoire that’s necessary for any fast bowler.

Shami’s exploits in his short Test career so far speak for themselves, but hope against hope that he doesn’t prove to be another Ishant Sharma, who had a mind-blowing Test series against Australia in their own backyard in 2008, and has since struggled to come up with the goods.

Fingers Crossed!

Ashwin’s prowess in overseas conditions is a worry

There is a whole lot of dimensions to why Ashwin isn’t doing enough as the lead spinner for India in overseas conditions (I did a piece on how he can manage his bowling when India tour abroad).

Alternatively, since Ashwin has an impressive batting capability for a no.8, MS Dhoni can maybe use him as an all-rounder at no.7 and play an extra bowler. That could just give Team India the balance of going in with 5 specialist batsmen, a wicket-keeper batsman, an all-rounder and 4 specialist bowlers. In case Ashwin continues to be inept with his spin-bowling when India tour abroad, the aforementioned team composition could be the ideal way to make use of the available resources and come up with the goods as well. Mind you, Ashwin is the world’s no.1 all-rounder in ICC’s Test rankings.

The “4-bowler theory” nearly cost India the first Test match at Johannesburg

Going in with just 4 specialist bowlers for South African conditions can prove to be suicidal, and Team India very nearly felt the negative side of it when their bowlers struggled to keep Faf Du Plessis and AB De Villiers in check towards the 2nd and 3rd session on the final day of the Johannesburg Test match.

You just can’t allow your fast bowlers to toil away on a flat surface, which doesn’t offer you anything. No matter how much you try to rotate your 4 bowlers, tiredness becomes a massive factor to contend with as the Test match progresses and the likes of Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma aren’t the fittest fast bowlers, who can run in right throughout the day.

MS Dhoni needs to figure out how he can get his bowling combination right when India tour abroad. Thankfully, on this occasion India were let off the hook by Vernon Philander and Dale Steyn, who failed to capitalize on an opportunity to make history.

An overseas Test win after the 8-0 debacle remains elusive

Well, you got to applaud MS Dhoni’s men for what they have been able to achieve in the 2-match Test series, but when and where is that 1st overseas Test win going to come for Team India?

India has certainly put up a brave show in this Test series against the no.1 ranked Test side and showed that they are no pushovers as was speculated in the cricketing world fraternity prior to this series, but slight mending with the available resources could give Team India the cutting edge it requires to win abroad.