Form is one thing and being able to handle the pressure of a large number of fans at the Eden Gardens cauldron is something else.
India’s Virat Kohli during his unbeaten 101 against South Africa at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday. Pic/AFP
The Indian juggernaut keeps rolling on, decimating teams, big or small. They completed another demolition job on the strong South Africans, who are also in great form. Form is one thing and being able to handle the pressure of a large number of fans at the Eden Gardens cauldron is something else.
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Jansen not at his best
Marco Jansen was overawed by the occasion and turned up only as a fraction of the bowler that he is. This is worrying for SA as it is the absolute business end of the tournament now. Hopefully, he will find his straps, run in hard and bowl fast in the semis. On Sunday, he was a pale shadow of the bowler he is, and was just releasing the ball, hoping it would land in the right place. There was no pace, and soon Rohit Sharma took him apart. I hope the great South African choke will not impact the rest of the team too.
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But the day belonged to birthday boy Virat Kohli. He is batting in supreme form and it’s a joy to watch him place the ball and do pretty much whatever he wants at the crease. There is such respect amongst the bowlers for him too, that in a way, they are just trying to restrict him and not trying to get him out. He and Shreyas Iyer had a wonderful partnership on a track that was a little two-paced and predictably spun as well.
They handled Keshav Maharaj with respect as he was in the middle of a rhythmic spell. He got Shubman Gill with a ball which is a left-arm spinner’s dream, pitching leg/middle and hitting off-stump. He bowled the right speed for the pitch (slower than normal) and flighted the ball with out fear. Iyer and Kohli, hence, played with a lot of respect.
Kagiso Rabada was a class above the others as usual, and I find that his accuracy is improving with every game. My hunch is that he will do a star turn for SA in the semi-final and break the back of the opponents’ batting. A late flourish from the ever-dependable and mature Ravindra Jadeja saw India get to a much above-par score and from there on, there was no way they could lose.
The Indian bowling unit quickly took the initiative as they have done in each game and a lucky break was Quinton de Kock’s dismissal. By then, it was apparent that there was no dew. No dew meant more spin and that was all Jadeja needed to spin a web around the lower-order.
Shami shines yet again
But, it was Mohammed Shami who bowled beautifully once again on his home ground, using the leg-cutter and off-cutter this time to rip out the two in-form batsmen in Aiden Markram and Rassie van Der Dussen. He is seeming unplayable right now and is definitely captain Rohit’s ace in the pack. Shami has seen a lot of strife in his personal and professional life and has been determined and dogged through it all. A line of mention for Bharat Arun and Ravi Shastri is needed here as they shepherded him through those dark days. Kudos to both!
India now will wait to see whom they play in the semis. Amongst the one pending game against Netherlands and the various permutations and combinations around other teams, it seems that India could play New Zealand in the semis at Wankhede.
Jatin Paranjape, the ex-India and Mumbai batsman, is a former national selector too.
He tweets @jats72
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