Shaun Pollock blames “slight overconfidence” for visitors’ batting collapse in 1st India vs South Africa Test

Shaun Pollock reckons Indian batters were “slightly overconfident” coming into Day 3 of the Centurion Test against South Africa. The former pacer feels it was one of the factors behind their massive batting collapse in the first innings.

On a pitch that had quickened up despite being under the covers for the entire Day 2, India’s batting crumbled. The visitors lost their last seven wickets for just 49 runs. While many were expecting India to get to at least 400, they had to be content for just 327. It fell into the pattern of batting collapses seen over the last 12 months.

Pollock said it was a combination of no batter taking the initiative to stop the collapse and slight brashness. The lack of practice for the lower order also contributed to the cause. He remarked Rahul Dravid may have also been tempted to tell his players not to take their Day 1’s success for granted.

Speaking on Cricbuzz, Pollock said:

“I think it’s always concerning that someone can’t stop the rut. You can always lose 2-3 wickets but the fact that someone can’t stop it is a little bit of a concern… Mindset wise the conundrum for a coach is you never want to… overtalk about how things could or couldn’t go wrong [but] you just think maybe Rahul Dravid was tempted at the start of play on Day 3 to say, ‘Listen, guys, we batted superbly on Day 1 but let’s not take it for granted. Let’s apply ourselves, let’s really get stuck in, let’s build it from the beginning once again.'”

The former South African pacer added:

“I think it was a case of maybe they (the batters) were slightly overconfident coming onto the crease and then a combination of your lower-order – Ashwin, Thakur, Shami, Bumrah, Siraj… those guys haven’t had much time in the middle, they need a little bit of game time, additional practices and maybe were just short of a gallop.”

But the collapse didn’t cost much as the Indian bowlers stepped in to dismiss South Africa for just 197. The visitors had a 146-run lead by stumps. When asked if the toss had a role to play in this, Pollock said it was the other way around. He feels that India’s strong opening partnership has made the toss look favorable.

Pollock asserted:

“I think toss was an advantage now that they have gotten themselves into this situation of having such a great start… Because what can often happen is you can be 3 or 4 down and having won the toss and deciding to bat first backfires on you. But the fact they got [the opening] partnership… it has worked in their favor and going forward, there’s no doubt that the conditions will suit them in order to get those last 10 wickets to wrap up this Test.”

So far, the cracks haven’t had much of an impact as balls have rarely misbehaved. But thunderstorms and rain are expected over the next couple of days. It will be interesting to see if and how that changes the playing conditions.

“260-280 in Centurion is a winning total for India” – Dinesh Karthik

India and Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik said the opening of the cracks suggests India would be comfortable with setting a target of 260-280. But he feels if Jasprit Bumrah isn’t 100 percent fit, the visitors will look to stretch the lead to 320-330.

In the same interaction, Karthik said:

“I think 260-280 in Centurion is a winning total because as the game progresses, the cracks are going to widen up… I am pretty confident that India will score in excess of that but I do think 260-280 is a winning total especially with the way the fast-bowlers are bowling. Most importantly, Jasprit Bumrah should be fully fit. If he isn’t then in excess of 320-330 will be comfortable for India.”

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Day 4 will begin at 1:30 PM IST on Wednesday.