 The second test match of the series between West Indies and South Africa will
be played at St. Kitts. South Africa had easily won the first Test match
in four days, and by 160 runs, and they will look to wrap up the series in the
second Test match itself.
Click for Live Score Card of West Indies Vs South Africa
In fact, the whole tour has been so one-sided that West Indies has now lost
eight games in a row, including two T20Is, five ODIs and one Test match. This
has meant that the West Indian side does not look like they are any closer
to winning any game, and given that the team will need to now display such shenanigans
in a format which tests even the best of the teams.
The good news is that the captain Chris Gayle has backed the current
playing eleven and said that the same set of players will probably continue
to play in the next game as well. However, there are things that West Indies
need to improve on and there cannot be any winning without that.
For one, the side needs to look at the way they have played the South African
fast bowlers. in the first innings, they had barely scored ten runs in the first
ten overs and that had meant that the side had almost struggled to get going.
Then, when they did lose the wickets, the score looked abysmal, and that is
where they struggled.
Batsmen like Gayle need to play their natural game if the side needs to get
going.
Not only that, but the bowling was a tad loose in the second half of the first
South African innings. While there will be occasions when the side does not
pick up too many wickets, those will also be times when the bowling needs to
be tight and runs need to be throttled. That is something that did not happen
and that is where the opposition got off to a big enough total.
South Africa, on the other hand, will be please as a punch. Their batting was
decent, their bowling was excellent. However, the biggest piece of good news
for the team will be the return to form of Graeme Smith.
Smith has been failing consistently, but in this game, he showed enough mettle
to score that 90. With Dale Steyn continuing to look as menacing as before,
it is a wonder what can the opposition do to even think of a win!
|
