South Africa Lost Series Against India in Dressing Room: Sunil Gavaskar
South Africa were outplayed by India's bowlers as Ravichandran Ashwin won his fifth Man of the Series award with 31 wickets in the four-Test series.
"Thank God, no one is talking about the pitch. Even the last South African batsman got out to a straight ball," said Sunil Gavaskar tongue-in-cheek, after India's spin-pace combination scripted a resounding 337-run victory at Feroz Shah Kotla against South Africa on Monday.
Gavaskar was one man who kept defending India's pitches after South Africa kept losing one Test after another to surrender their enviable nine-year unbeaten streak in Tests overseas in Nagpur. The former Test captain said India's pitches were challenging but not vicious as the world made it out to be.
Even after the ICC rated the Nagpur pitch as "poor," Gavaskar 'fought' the world's top cricketers, who chose to malign Nagpur's wicket that enabled India rout the world No.1 team in consecutive Tests inside three days.
Gavaskar simply put it down to "poor technique and temperament by South African batsmen." (Ajinkya Rahane, India's 'Most Complete', Bats His Way Into Record Books)
'South Africa Didn't Justify No.1 Status'
Day Five at Kotla gave Gavaskar more fodder to defend India's 'home' conditions that enabled Virat Kohli's young team register an emphatic 3-0 series win and a leap of two spots to No.2 in the ICC Test rankings.
"South Africa did not play like the No.1 Test team in the world," said Gavaskar, after Ravichandran Ashwin and Umesh Yadav put the finishing touches to India's win at Kotla.
Gavaskar pointed out that several top batsmen like Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis misread deliveries and were out to balls that kept straight. Interestingly, Morne Morkel, the last batsman to fall in this 72-day series, was bowled by an Ashwin delivery that kept straight.
"Their mind was muddled with turn, turn and turn. They were losing matches in the dressing room," Gavaskar said of South Africa's batsmen, who were either leg before or bowled for failing to differentiate between a straighter and a turner. (Rahane Dedicates Historic Series Victory to Chennai Flood Victims and Indian Army)
Praise for Kohli's Handling of Spinners
Gavaskar praised Kohli's handling of his bowlers as South Africa adopted ultra-defensive plans to draw the Kotla Test. The Indian captain used eight bowlers to break the Hashim Amla-AB de Villiers third-wicket stand that kept denying India for hours and over two days.
"How he (Kohli) handled the bowlers was impressive. He kept rotating the spinners, kept them fresh and never let the pressure go," said Gavaskar.
Kohli said his bowlers were ready to fight till the end.
"Ravindra Jadeja told me he was ready to bowl till 4:30p.m, if need be," said the skipper, highlighting that the team wasn't complacent despite having won the series in the third Test at Nagpur.