Dinesh Karthik, the wicket-keeping batter from India, attributed India’s substantial defeat against South Africa in the Boxing Day Test to a deficiency in skills. The comprehensive win for South Africa, securing an innings victory by a margin of 32 runs at the SportSport Park in Centurion, propelled the Proteas to a 1-0 lead in the two-match Test series. This loss dashed India's aspirations of conquering their last remaining frontier in Test cricket, an accomplishment they have never achieved in South Africa, suffering seven losses and securing only one draw in their eight Test series since 1992.
In a conversation with Cricbuzz, Karthik pinpointed India’s loss in Centurion to a lack of skill, emphasizing that India’s middle-order batting and their third and fourth pacers fell short. India succumbed to South Africa's bowling attack, getting dismissed for 245 and 131 runs within three days.
“I believe it’s not a matter of being unprepared in red-ball cricket. However, I would certainly attribute it to a lack of skill. There are evident deficiencies in certain areas within the current Indian team. The glaring ones for me are the performance of the third and fourth medium-paced bowlers and the middle-order batting. This isn’t the typical Indian team that we are accustomed to, and it doesn't meet the standards they've established over time,” remarked Karthik.
He further commented on the need for Shardul Thakur and Prasidh Krishna to elevate their performances, highlighting Prasidh's tendency to concede too many boundary balls. In the first Test, Shardul gave away 101 runs in 19 overs, while Prasidh leaked 93 runs in 20 overs, managing to take one wicket each.
“Shardul and Prasidh need to step up their game. I believe Rohit Sharma was lenient in calling them young bowlers. Shardul had been part of the previous series and performed reasonably well. However, this time, it was a subpar performance. Prasidh Krishna is relatively inexperienced in first-class cricket, which is reflected in his game. He was consistently giving away too many boundary balls. The lack of control is never a positive sign in Test cricket,” Karthik elaborated.
Following their defeat in Centurion, India is preparing for their next challenge against South Africa at the Wanderers Stadium in Cape Town, scheduled for January 3rd.
