Mahendra Singh Dhoni has shown himself to be a natural leader of men and his unflustered and cool demeanour even in tough situations makes a huge contribution to the lack of panic that one sees in the rest of the team in those crisis times. It is easy to see why his team will do anything for him. However, even as he progresses in the tactical area there is one crucial aspect that he has to try and get right and that is the spin of the coin. In India this is especially important because winning or losing the toss can make a big difference to the outcome of the game. This is simply because of the uncertain quality of pitches that India gets for its Test matches. These can range from the green tops that some ‘maalis’ make to some dust bowls that are fit more for wrestling than playing cricket, leave aside international cricket. The green tops are a ‘maalis’ favorite recipe for a ‘sporting’ wicket. They feel that leaving grass in an uneven manner will give the fast bowlers help and so the pitch becomes a ‘sporting’ one. God knows where they have got this idea that a pitch with grass is a sporting one and one without it is not. Two of the quickest pitches that were on offer in the 70s and 80s were in Chennai and one against Pakistan in 1979-80 in Delhi. They had lots of pace and bounce but they did not have any grass on it. If a pitch with an even layer of grass is needed, it is at the domestic level where more often than not the dry crumblers give an exaggerated idea of the quality of a spin bowler. Dhoni being the home captain only spins the coin, so it is not he who wins or loses the toss but the visiting skipper who calls which way the coin is going to fall. Here a clever skipper will after a game or so be aware of what the visiting captain’s favorite call is and practice spinning the coin so it doesn’t fall that way. Graeme Smith not only won the toss but also gave his team a good start along with the in-form Neil Mackenzie. It was just the stabilizing factor that the visitors needed for the ball was spinning though there was no bounce. A steady start at the beginning of a Test match is invariably good for the nerves in the dressing room. The skipper looked good to get a ton but that wasn’t to be but his two partnerships with Mackenzie and Amla had given just the boost that the team wanted. The Indian skipper, never one to stick by orthodoxy, tried part-timers Yuvraj and Sehwag when the regulars were not able to make an impact and Yuvraj got the breakthrough. Ishant Sharma also bowled splendidly and Harbhajan was tough to get away. Yet South Africa will be more than satisfied with the score that they have on the board. It gives their bowlers something to defend and don’t forget that it will be India who will be batting last, so unless they get a very big score it won’t be easy for them to chase in the fourth innings.
