- For quite some time now, say three years or so, the Indian Test cricket team has been on a winning streak especially while touring overseas. Looking at the back-to-back series victory against the formidable Australian team down under in their own den, and a series win against the no less challenging England in their backyard are some of the most memorable achievements in the annals of Indian cricket history. No longer can Team India be considered as poor travellers simply because of the mind-blowing victories achieved during the last few series.
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- As a result, the Indian team is not considered pushovers anymore and is treated with due respect. As they say, statistics don’t lie is indisputable in Team India’s case as well. Of course, there is one more hitherto considered as an indestructible fortress called South Africa standing tall beckoning to be conquered which none of the previous Indian cricket team has succeeded in doing so. Most promisingly, the current touring team led by the indefatigable captain Virat Kohli promises to breach the South African dominance in the ongoing Test series. The tidings appear to be in favour of the Indian team as it completely dominated the first Test in Centurion by winning the match quite comfortably with a huge margin of 113 runs.
- And to think of it the entire second day’s play was washed out due to incessant rains speaks volumes about the dominance our team had over the hosts. A remarkable achievement indeed. Now, any marginal cricket-loving enthusiast would know for a fact that the bowlers need to take 20 wickets to win a Test match. Hence, the performance of bowlers is always crucial to the team’s cause in winning a match. Moreover, in overseas conditions which heavily favours pace bowlers, any winning team should be endowed with at least two, if not three, match-winning bowlers to run through the opposing team.
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- The history is replete with world-conquering teams like West Indies of the 1970s/80s, and the Australian team of 1990s/2000 possessing some of the all-time great bowlers who could run through the teams on their own. Such firepower provided those teams of yore to annihilate opposition teams in a jiffy and in a consistent manner too. Fortunately, Team India is also blessed with some of the best pace bowling exponents in the business in the form of Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, and the promising Mohammad Siraj.
- Most importantly, several promising pace bowlers are waiting in the wings to make a mark at the international level which bodes well for the team to go all out. No wonder, India is feared for its riches in the pace bowling department nowadays. This Centurion triumph is a first for any Asian nation and from hereon, the Indian team is expected to go the distance by at least winning one of the remaining two Tests to win the series handsomely. Looking at the present South African team, there is no reason why Team India cannot go the distance. Go for it, Team India!
