IND vs SA | Winners and losers from Pune ft. Rishabh Pant, Anrich Nortje and Zubayr Hamza
As expected, Pune turned out to be the storm before the calm that was Vizag and India, unsurprisingly, steamrolled through a hopeless South African side. Despite an overwhelming number of losers from one side, we, here at SportsCafe, have tried our best and compiled a fairly reasonable list.
Winners
Umesh Yadav
Let’s be honest, more than the unfortunate injury to Jasprit Bumrah, we all went “meh” and fumed after learning Umesh Yadav would replace him. Once again, in the morning of the Test, there was the same old “Here we go again” feel after seeing Umesh’s name on the teamsheet but once again, the Vidarbha man proved why he’s an absolute gun in home conditions and made a lot of people, including myself, eat humble pie. Pune was a lesson to everyone who plays and watches the sport - never underestimate the damage Umesh Yadav can inflict, ever.
Zubayr Hamza
I wonder if there was a bet between Aiden Markram, Thenuis de Bruyn, and Temba Bavuma on who would lose their spot to Zubayr Hamza in Ranchi? But gotta say, each of the aforementioned three players made a great case for themselves to be dropped from the final Test and in all honesty, it would be difficult for the selectors to decide on who to axe. My guess would be de Bruyn but hey, Zubayr, if you’re reading this now, cheer up lad, cause you’re all set to represent your country for just the second-ever time on October 19.
Nigel Llong and Chris Gaffney
For someone who watched all five matches of the Ashes really closely, I could barely remember a handful of correct decisions. On the other hand, I’m now struggling to think of the wrong decisions made in this series so far. That, in itself, serves as a testament to the high standards of umpiring we’ve witnessed so far. Of course, like the Markram one earlier today and the Anrich Nortje one a couple of days ago, the odd wrong decision is bound to be made every now and then. But as a whole, both Nigel Llong and Chris Gaffney did a remarkable job in this Test and reassured the people’s faith in umpiring once again.
Losers
Anrich Nortje
What is the worst nightmare of a bowler who can bowl 150 clicks on a consistent basis? Probably the thought of making the Test debut against India in the sub-continent. Unfortunately, for Nortje, it became a reality and in many ways, it probably went worse than how it did in his nightmare. Jokes apart, as proven by the Indian seamers, the Pune pitch did offer enough for the quicks but the debutant, after an initial splurge, found himself in a rut that he never recovered from. And in these conditions, my friend, if you fall down, you’re less likely to find a lending hand to pick you up and more likely to be run over by the juggernaut that is the Indian batting.
Rishabh Pant
If Rishabh Pant had a time machine, he would probably go back to October 11 and erase all events that unravelled on the 12th and 13th. Yesterday, he witnessed the knock - Sanju Samson’s double-century - that arguably kicked him out of the ODI team and today, he witnessed a keeping masterclass that has all but ensured that he won’t play a home Test again until Saha hangs up his boots. A tough pill to swallow for the youngster, indeed, but if a 34-year-old Saha could make his way back into the team after an 18-month hiatus, there is still hope - and plenty of it - for Pant.
The Neutrals
Cricket is a cruel game, not just for the players but for the fans too. Three days into the series, we were all ecstatic that we’d finally seen a completely new, different South African team that showed fight and resilience and believed that we were all set for an enthralling series, but fast-forward a few days and here we are, once again disappointed and fooled, by the game of cricket and our own hearts. Sadly, it has turned out to be the same ol’ tale of India dominating and South Africa folding hopelessly without a fight and if anything, the fact that the Proteas were in fact bamboozled by India’s pace - and not spin - adds insult to injury. Guess we’ll have to wait till Australia’s next tour of India to get a side that can compete against India in their own backyard (sorry Bangladesh fans).
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