'The South Africans have lots of demons in their heads'

IMAGE: Ravichandran Ashwin celebrates taking Faf du Plessis' wicket. Photograph: BCCI

Another baptism by fire may be in store for South Africa, as a turning track is expected for the third Test, starting in Nagpur on Wednesday, November 25.
Hashim Amla's side scored 184 and 109 runs in the first Test in Mohali, which they lost by 108 runs. In the rain-hit second Test in Bangalore they were bundled out for 214 on a good wicket on Day 1.
Former India spinner Murali Kartik believes South Africa's batsmen are struggling to cope mentally in the Test series. Some of their batsmen, Kartik feels, have "lots of demons in their heads" when facing the Indian spin trio of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Amit Mishra.
Kartik, who played eight Tests and 39 One-Day Internationals, wasn't given enough chances to fulfill his potential in the international arena. Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh were the two preferred spinners in his playing days.
In first class cricket, Kartik has claimed 644 wickets in 203 games. Besides a long career for the Railways in domestic cricket, he has also represented Lancashire, Middlesex, Somerset and Surrey in English county cricket.
The left-arm spinner explains to Harish Kotian/Rediff.com why the South Africans are all at sea against Ashwin and Jadeja.
What is going wrong for South Africa?
For one, they have got lots of demons in their heads. If you look at the wickets, they haven't done that much, whether it was Mohali or Bangalore. The wickets had nothing at all.
Expect for A B de Villiers, nobody else has any idea what their game plan is.
The South African openers could not provide the team with a good start. Has that been a factor?
It is not about starts. You can say that they did not have any clue against the spinners in Mohali, but you had three seamers bowling to them in Bangalore. I don't think that is the case, it is about the skill-set.

Comments

Modern garden with upcycling plastic bottles

EPA and the regulation of greenhouse gasses

This week, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy joined private and public sector leaders for a second annual White House roundtable discussion about the progress made and new steps taken to curb emissions of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), potent greenhouse gases used in refrigeration and air conditioning. Administrator McCarthy announced several new actions the agency will take to help support a smooth transition to climate-friendly alternatives to HFCs. "EPA is working closely with industry leaders to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, transition to climate-friendly refrigerants, and deploy advanced refrigeration technologies,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “The powerful combination of EPA’s regulatory actions and innovations emerging from the private sector have put our country on track to significantly cut HFC use and deliver on the goals of the President’s Climate Action Plan.” Among the actions announced today, EPA proposed a rule that would improve t...

iPad Pro Review

The iPad Pro is, at first glance, completely crazy. A giant iPad with all the limitations of iOS, coupled with added bulk that makes it harder to tote, and a price tag that starts at Rs. 70,000 , all make it a hard sell. That's only the starting price though, and you're going to end up paying a lot more for this tablet. Realistically, you should get the 128GB model, which costs Rs. 79,900, and also the Apple Smart Keyboard , which will set you back by Rs. 14,900. Artists, designers, and others might also need to buy the Apple Pencil , priced at Rs. 8,600 - which means a final price tag between Rs. 94,800 and Rs. 1,03,400. At that price, you can't really compare it to the iPad Air 2 , the last 10-inch model to be released, with an MRP of Rs. 49,900 for the 128GB variant. ( Also see : iPad Air 2 Review: Still the King of Tablets ) But if the iPad Pro is nearly twice the price of the iPad Air 2, then it's also giving you a lot more, aside...

jaDuGai

Search This Blog