IND vs SA | South Africa Player Ratings - Faf du Plessis’ 4/10 sets unwanted tone for Proteas
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While the expectations from South Africa’s end, heading into the series, were pretty low, the visitors somehow managed to considerably fall short of it. From Markram and Bavuma up top to Rabada and Maharaj down the bottom, every single player ended up leaving a bitter taste with their performances.
When a star-studded South African team were comprehensively beaten by India in 2015, the former resorted to the same ol’ defence mechanism of blaming the pitches, terming them as “demonic” and “disgraceful”. Rather than accepting their own shortcomings, the Proteas built a false narrative and stuck to it for four long years. Heading into the Tests this year, the Proteas had a golden chance to do justice to their argument, but with their appalling display, have ended up quashing their statement and have now been left with no option but to come to terms with their own mediocrity.
Aiden Markram - 1.5/10
It’s telling that the only meaty blow Markram managed in the entirety of the tour came after the Pune Test when he broke his wrist by smashing his hand against a ‘foreign object’. Touted as the next big thing of South African cricket, Markram’s miserable series raised serious questions about his credentials, with him looking abject against both pace and spin. The talent he possesses is undeniable, but with an away average of 10.50, for now, he has to live with the “Home track bully” tag.
Dean Elgar - 5/10
It became increasingly evident that nothing, even Dean Elgar’s grit, wasn’t going to be enough to stop the Indian juggernaut and perhaps it was symbolic that he ended the tour retired hurt, trying to fend off the Indian attack. Elgar was arguably the Proteas’ best batsman of the series and that speaks volumes in itself, as despite his 160 in Vizag, he looked like a fish out of water for most parts, with his luck also deserting him at crucial junctures in the series.
Thenuis de Bruyn - 2/10
Having scored a 4th innings ton against Sri Lanka on a rank turner, there was considerable hype surrounding Thenuis de Bruyn heading into the series. Now, after the series, we’ve all been left wondering the same thing - “How did he score that ton?”. Neither his technique nor his temperament inspired hope at any point in the series and more often than not, be it against pace or spin, de Bruyn looked like a dead duck. This might very well be his last series in a considerable while.
Zubayr Hamza - 6.5/10
Zubayr Hamza’s 79-ball 62 in the first innings in Ranchi was perhaps the most fluent innings played by a South African across all three Tests. His compact technique, his quick feet movement and his still head at the point of impact makes for a viewer’s delight and you can bet that skipper du Plessis regretted the decision to leave him out of the first two Tests after what he saw in Ranchi. Albeit getting out for a duck in the second innings, Hamza showed enough to warrant an extended run in the Tests to come and was undoubtedly a shining light for the visitors.
Temba Bavuma - 2.5/10
Heading into the series with 36 Tests under his belt, South Africa relied heavily on Temba Bavuma’s experience to provide them stability in the middle, but sadly, the middler-order batsman let them down, big time. Similar to both Markram and de Bruyn, Bavuma looked susceptible against both pace and spin and ended the series without scoring a fifty across six innings. His dismal tour makes you if it’s us, all along, who has overestimated his ability.
Faf du Plessis - 4/10
In the very first match of the series, du Plessis passed his 2015 tally and it looked like he was a man who was willing to go to war. But one misjudgement followed another - both with the bat and on the field - and soon, the man who was handed the responsibility of leading his team from the front looked like he gave up and surrendered, pleading India to finish the job off. An uninspiring performance if there ever was one and in the bigger picture, an alarming one for the Proteas.
Quinton de Kock - 4/10
Similar to du Plessis, after the first innings in Vizag, it looked like Quinton de Kock had shrugged off the demons of his past and was a completely different batsman, but sadly his old avatar popped up after just one innings in the series and by the time the series ended, he was back to square one, a broken man. As has been the case with de Kock for quite a while now, one step forward and two steps backward.
Heinrich Klaasen - 1/10
I guess it would be fair to say the whole Klaasen experiment was nothing but a desperate effort from the Proteas’ side to set things straight, hoping against hope. He was thrown into the line of fire against a rampant Indian bowling and in all fairness, there is very little to read from his two knocks of 6 and 5. Poor Heinrich, for his sake, we hope he gets a fair shot in the future!
Senuran Muthusamy - 4/10
After being picked as a specialist spinner, Muthusamy sprung a surprise with the bat in Vizag, toiling hard, showing enormous patience and grit - much in contrast to the top-order batters. But as slowly as the series progressed, his charm faded away and by the time the Pune Test ended, it looked like Muthusamy had dissolved in the enormity of the occasion.
George Linde (7/10)
By far the best performer for South Africa in Ranchi and whilst he was picked as a specialist spinner, Linde showed that he has the spark in him to become a genuine all-rounder. Unlike Dane Piedt and Keshav Maharaj, despite getting whacked - that too by Umesh Yadav - Linde kept his composure with the ball and showcased the one thing his compatriots lacked - consistency. Won’t be surprised if he’s a regular in the Test setup from this moment, you can just sense he has an x-factor in him.
Dane Piedt - 1/10
Please give us a moment as we write this, just looking to fetch the Dane Piedt deliveries that Rohit Sharma hit out of the ground. Actually, nevermind, there are way too many of them. An average of 155 at a strike rate of 162 in the series, and no, we’re not talking about his batting. Needless to say, this would easily rank amongst the worst ever series for a spinner in any series in recent history and after this disaster, we doubt if Piedt we ever make it to another subcontinent tour.
Keshav Maharaj - 2.5/10
The hopes of South Africa relied heavily on the mystery of Keshav Maharaj, the curiosity of what he was capable of doing, and both his mystery and South Africa’s hopes were crushed on the very first day of the tour by the Indian openers. If anything, he made a case for him to warrant a place in the team as a specialist batsman more than a specialist spinner and it was indeed a bit disappointing to see him not learning from his mistakes.
Vernon Philander - 6/10
All the talk surrounding Philander ahead of the series was how ineffective his style of bowling would be in barren Indian conditions, but to his credit, he managed to trouble the Indian batters everytime with the new ball and in all fairness, was unlucky to not have more wickets next to his name. While Philander did his job of creating pressure, his compatriots from the other end let the Indian batsmen off the hook one too many times, undoing all the hard work he put in. Moreover, Big Vern established himself as a proper all-rounder. If only the batsmen showed half the grit and determination which Philander showed.
Kagiso Rabada - 4.5/10
A couple of three-wicket hauls to his name, yet being the #2 bowler in the world, so much more was expected of Kagiso Rabada and the speedster failed to live up to his reputation. In all three matches, Rabada bowled first - in conditions that actually offered help for pace bowling - but uncharacteristically, often sprayed the ball all over the pitch, failing to ask enough questions of the batsmen. He was comfortably out-bowled by both Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav and perhaps this will be a lesson which KG can reflect upon in the months to come.
Anrich Nortje - 3/10
There was a brief period in the third Test where Anrich Nortje looked like he belonged to this level but for the vast majority of the series, the tearaway quick looked out of depth. His inability to zero in on a fixed line and length ended up in his own undoing as he quickly learnt that there was no use of having express pace if you’re not going to hit the right spots. Again, like Klaasen, let’s hope that he gets a fair shot in the future but more importantly, let’s hope that he’s learnt a thing or two from this gruelling tour.
Lungi Ngidi - 0.5/10
Ngidi’s selection - both in the XI in Ranchi and in the original squad - turned out to be a calamity. After stressing on Ngidi’s lack of fitness in the first two matches, skipper du Plessis finally picked the speedster in the final Test and as things panned out, it turned out to be a disaster. It won’t be an overstatement to say that of all the bowlers to have bowled in the series - including Rohit Sharma - Ngidi was the worst of the lot.
