The white ball leg of India’s tour of South Africa is starting on Wednesday, but the proceedings from the Test series are still on everybody’s mind. One of the talking points was the form of India’s senior-most players – Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. So let’s have a look at how they fared in the Freedom Trophy.
While their South African counterparts flourished, they suffered
Sadly, the duo continued their poor form from the past two years in this series. Barring the 111-run partnership in the second innings of the second Test, where they both managed to score their only 50+ score, the rest of the tour for them was disappointing.
Comparing this to their South African counterparts, one would say that was the reason why India lost the series. However, Keegan Petersen displayed cunningness and made the most of the limited shots in his kitty, one thing which the Indian duo was extensively famous for in the past.
Even Temba Bavuma displayed one of the traits which the Indian duo was lacking – not giving your wicket easily. With an average of 73.66 in this series, Bavuma provided rare stability in the middle for the Proteas.
The critical difference between the two sides can be easily summarised from the second innings score of the last Test match. While the Indian duo could not cross the double-digit barrier in the second innings, Petersen and Bavuma saw South Africa home.
The only positive (if we can call it that) for Indians was the strike rate of Rahane. As opposed to his career strike rate of 49.44, Rahane was aggressive in his approach in this series, with a strike rate of 60.44. Barring this and the second Test, they hardly had anything good to showcase.
Disappointing numbers in World Test Championship
Even before the series started, the buzz of the ‘last chance’ was floating around for these two. And why would it not? With an average of 34.35, Rahane was primarily under the radar in World Test Championship. After the match-winning innings in the 2020 Border Gavaskar trophy, his poor returns were the talk of the town.
And Pujara, too, has been ineffective in the WTC so far. His numbers are even lower than Rahane in this period. For a man who was the most prolific Test batter in the past decade, and at times, eclipsed Virat Kohli in this format, he has scored runs at an average of 27.38 and at a very brisk pace as well.
Conclusion
As Virat Kohli has resigned from the Test captaincy, we might see some drastic makeover of the Indian Test squad. And the management might start this transformation right from these two. Their returns have been poor, and the backing they still received for so long will be the case against them this time.
With the Ranji Trophy (India’s domestic first-class championship) getting canceled for the second consecutive year, it will be challenging to make a comeback if dropped from the Indian team. It’s improbable that the management will give both of them a place in the playing XI, but if they do, and God forbid if the results continue to be the same, it will unofficially be the last time we see them playing for India.