5 most underrated performers in the India-South Africa series

India won the Test series 3-0, but the contribution of a lot of players was forgottenWhile it is often emphasised that cricket is a team sport, individual performances often overshadow the team’s brilliance. While most fans remember Sachin Tendulkar’s brilliant 98 against Pakistan in the 2003 World Cup, most forget that Yuvraj and Dravid were equally crucial towards India winning the match.Similarly, while most fans recall with delight Anil Kumble’s 10-74, two gritty innings of 60 and 96 made by Sadagoppan Ramesh in the same match hardly comes to mind.Rahul Dravid has often been shunned similarly, as several excellent performances by him have been pushed aside because someone else did something better – his 180 at Kolkata in 2001 and his three centuries in the tour to England in 2011 come to mind.The fact that the team works together to achieve a victory is often lost in the brouhaha over individual performances.The modern game is no different. India won the Freedom trophy in the Test series, comprehensively beating South Africa 3-0. Despite South Africa playing two Tests on rank turners, truth be told, they struggled even on good pitches in Bangalore and Delhi, succumbing more to the demons in their mind than the demons in the pitch.Ashwin and Jadeja picked up 70% of the wickets to fall, and South Africa only managed to go an entire session without losing a wicket in the second innings of the final Test. But once again, the heroes of the series were Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajinkya Rahane and the valiant AB de Villiers.Nobody spares a thought for the silent heroes sitting in the dugouts, who also gave their best for the team. Let’s take a look at 5 such players:

#5 Wriddhiman Saha

Saha is quickly rising up the ranks as he had a good series with the bat and the gloves

Ever since the retirement of MS Dhoni, speculation was rife over how India’s new ‘keeper would fare. Replacement names like Parthiv Patel, Dinesh Karthik and Naman Ojha were thrown in, but only one man had the best chance of making it – Wriddhiman Saha.

Saha had played several good knocks in the Ranji and the IPL before and had even played Tests for India. So it was natural that he would be appointed as Dhoni’s successor. He did not disappoint in the Sri Lanka series either, being good with the gloves and also playing a couple of handy knocks.

Saha did not have the best start to the tournament, getting out for a duck in the first innings at Mohali. But he showed his prowess in the second, where he came in to bat when India had lost quick wickets and needed a good partnership.

As wickets crumbled around him, Saha batted with the tail and protected them with all he had. Knowing that India needed runs, he dispatched loose balls for boundaries and was crucial in ensuring that the lead went past the 200-run mark.

He was at his best in the dustbowl at Nagpur, where again, he came in to bat with India at a precarious position. With India at 125-6, he produced one of the grittiest knocks of the series to score 32 off 106 balls.

On a vicious pitch where batsmen like Amla, Kohli and de Villiers had failed to stay in the crease, Saha had faced and beaten down more than a hundred balls. India’s score inched over 200 once again, and they were safe.

In the second innings at Delhi, Saha gave Rahane good company, scoring an unbeaten 23 off 51 balls. He understood that the run-rate needed to be upped while Rahane was searching for a century, and scored three boundaries in the process.

He also had an excellent time with gloves, keeping wickets to balls that turned square and kept low. He pulled off a spectacular catch late on the final session of the last day in Delhi, which only topped off the good series he had.

#4 Dean Elgar

Despite having a dodgy technique, Elgar managed to keep India’s spinners at bay for the most part of the series

In a series where South Africa found themselves severely lacking, Dean Elgar backed himself to perform. From the beginning, South Africa was playing with demons in their mind as they were unsure of whether to go on the back-foot or front-foot.

In the first Test, both Stiaan Van Zyl and Faf du Plessis were dismissed by leaving balls alone, which showed how unsure they were. But Elgar used a combination of unorthodox technique and safe batting to counter any deliveries coming his way.

He planted his front foot way across and used the depth of the crease to smother the spin on the full-length deliveries. He had more success than his colleagues, managing to play 123 and 47 deliveries in the first Test while the rest of the batsmen crumbled to a trial by spin.

Elgar played an excellent hand in the second Test as well, scoring 38 off 81 and blunting India’s twin-pace attack. He used the age-old formula of giving the first hour to the bowlers and made sure that South Africa did not lose too many wickets.

Elgar played on in the first innings of the third Test, but hung around in the second innings. He played 58 vicious deliveries before he was finally done in by a slider from Ashwin.

Once again, in the final Test, he made 17 and 4, which was not up to his best. On the other hand, he also contributed with the ball, as he picked up five wickets in the series, including 4/22 in the first innings. His off-breaks started the slide for India at Mohali, but it was not enough for South Africa to win the match.

#3 Cheteshwar Pujara

Pujara proved the importance of staying the crease as he blocked the South African pace attack

Coming back into the side during the Sri Lankan tour, Pujara proved his worth as he hit a century in his comeback match. This cemented his place into the Indian side as a permanent No. 3.

Pujara was one of India’s best batsmen during 2008-2011, and his return to the side was an added bonus for them. His ability to weather even the best of attacks made him a useful asset on tracks which were not favourable to the batsmen.

In the first test at Mohali, Pujara walked in after Shikhar Dhawan was dismissed for a duck. On a track that was spitting from Day 1, he joined hands with Murali Vijay to take the sting out of South Africa’s fast bowlers.

Batting against the likes of Steyn and Philander, Pujara blunted the attack and gauged the pitch. He scored 31 off 66 balls in a partnership of 62, which would later be crucial in a low-scoring match. He was again at his best in the second innings, top scoring with 77 off 153, helping India set an unassailable target.

In the third test, Pujara was again batting on an unwelcome pitch which was behaving worse than the one at Mohali. Reading the signs, South Africa themselves were attacking with four spinners.

Once again, it was stability and not quick runs that India needed. Pujara did his bit, staying on the crease for more than an hour and scoring 21 runs. His ability to score quick runs was again on display in the second innings, as he scored 31 off 45 balls, including five boundaries.

Pujara scored 14 and 28 in the fourth and final test, where he was bowled in both innings. His final tally of 202 runs in four Tests might not be much, but he showed the importance of staying in the crease than making quick runs – a strategy that South Africa would go on to implement in the fourth Test.

#2 Imran Tahir

Imran Tahir quietly became South Africa’s leading wicket-taker in the series

When the names of South Africa’s world-class bowlers are thrown in, somehow Imran Tahir always seems left out. The world talks about Steyn, Morkel and Philander, but Tahir is always viewed differently.

It could be because he is a spinner from a land of fast bowlers, but whatever the reason, Tahir has gotten used to being underrated. In the first ODI, Tahir picked up 2-57, including the crucial wickets of a well-set Rohit Sharma, and the dangerous Suresh Raina, but his exploits were overshadowed by Kagiso Rabada’s brilliant last over to MS Dhoni.

In the second ODI, he took 2-42, but South Africa ended up losing. He picked up 1-51 in the third, but Morne Morkel stole the show with a terrific 4-39 in the slog overs. He picked up 2-50 in the last ODI, but it went unnoticed in the mountain of runs that South Africa had scored.

In each match, he had contributed with wickets, but they all disappeared under the feats of his colleagues. He ended up with 7 wickets in the ODI series at an economy of 5.60.

With India serving up spinning tracks, Tahir was hyped to make a good impression in the tests. But it was Dean Elgar who stole the show at Mohali, picking up 4 wickets. Tahir picked up 6 wickets in the match, including a timely 4-48 in the second innings, but once again, South Africa ended up on the losing side.

He picked up a five-for in the third Test, with figures of 5-38, as he helped India slip from 102-2 to 128-7. But it was all for naught again as the South African batsmen failed to step up their game.

Asked to bowl on a dead pitch in Delhi did not help Tahir’s cause, as he could only pick up 2-140 in the game, ending the series on a low. He ended up as South Africa’s highest wicket taker with 14 wickets in the series, but his feat was lost in India’s series win.

Tahir continues to be the dark horse of the South African bowling line-up, but he will hope that his time to shine will come soon.

#1 Amit Mishra

Despite several good performances, Amit Mishra was dropped for an extra batsman more than once

If there was anyone who had the most unlucky of series during the tour, it had to be Amit Mishra. Coming in after a good performance in Sri Lanka, Mishra would have definitely hoped that he got more chances in the matches.

Picked as the second spinner in the first ODI, Mishra became India’s leading spinner after Ashwin walked off with a side-strain. He bowled beautifully, taking 2-47 off 10 overs including the wicket of Hashim Amla. Quite inexplicably, he was dropped for the next match.

He was brought back in the third ODI, where he bowled even better, taking 1-38 off 10 overs, again taking the scalp of Hashim Amla. His flight and dip were difficult to negotiate for the Proteas, who had a hard time scoring off him.

In the fourth game, he picked up 1-55 in 10 overs, this time taking the wicket of Behardien. He was undoubtedly expensive in the run-fest in the fifth ODI, giving away 78 runs in his 10 overs, which was still the second lowest economy rate for India.

He was picked for the first Test in Mohali, where he bowled like a dream. He assisted Ashwin and Jadeja beautifully, giving the ball plenty of flight and rip. He broke through the defences of the dangerous de Villiers in both innings – with a flighted leg-break in the first and a quick slider in the second.

He picked up 3-61 in the match, but his figures don’t show how well he bowled. Once again, he was dropped inexplicably for the second Test.

Mishra had his best game in the third Test at Nagpur, where he made full use of the turning pitch to rip the South African batting order part. After Amla and du Plessis had mounted a resistance, Mishra was introduced to give some variety to the spin. He struck at last, first removing Amla, caught by Kohli, and then taking out du Plessis as well, sinking all South African hopes.

As Mishra hoped to finish the tour on a high, he was dropped again for the fourth Test, with India opting to play an extra batsman in Rohit Sharma. Mishra had to watch forlornly from the dressing room as Rohit made 1 and 0, rueing his bad luck.

In a see-saw tour which saw several twists and turns, Amit Mishra would have surely felt that he deserved more chances than he got.