Only rain can prevent India from retaning the No.1 Ranking.
We are into the final day of The 2nd Test Match of the 2 match test series between India and South Africa played at Kolkatta between 14th to 18th February 2010. While a win would enable India to retain their 1-0 ranking in Tests which they deserve. On the other hand only rain can help SouthAfrica in getting away with a draw and claim the ranking from India and should South Africa claim the number one ranking then the following factors are responsible for India losing their number one ranking to South Africa.
1. Sehwag's failure to get a big hundred:- The entire cricketing world that India owes its recent cricketing success in Test Matches due to Sehwag's ability to score big hundreds at almost a run a ball. Sehwag scored a 100 but not a big one by his usual standards. Sehwag's 19 centuries in Test Matches add up to 3488 runs which means he averages 184 whenever he gets a 100 and this time Sehwag go only 109 in the first innings which means it is a failure by the very high standards he has set for himself. Had Sehwag got a big hundred Indians would have only conceded a marginal lead to South Africa first innings score of 558 andthe result could have been a draw. Of the 19 centuries Sehwag has scored in Test Matches, he has converted 13 of them into scores of 150 plus and a 150 plus in the First Test would have made a huge difference to India's fortunes.
3. Lower Middle Order and Tail Enders failed:- Thanks to Sehwag's century at one stage India were 192 for 3 but Laxman's absence in the middle order meant that there was nobody to guide the tail. The failure of lower middle order and a poor tail meant that India lost their last 7 wickets for a paltry 41 runs. A score of 192 for 3 should have translated to 375 all out but in this case Indians folded up for 233 runs and that made the difference. While the bowlers failed to contribute with the ball on expected lines, they had a chance to redeem themselves by batting well but their failure meant that India were effectively out of the match.
3. India's batsmen failed in the second innings too:- After having been bowled for 233 India conceded a first innings lead of 325. A deficit of 325 with more than 2 days to play is a tough ask but Indian batsmen had done exceptionally well in the past couple of years to score mammoth second innings totals to bail out India but expecting them to do it every time was too much and this time around Indian batsmen failed to put up a mammoth score in the second innings and that cost India the match.
Indians have always been at the receiving end of rain on umpteen number of times. Whenever Indians have been pushing for wins rains have saved our opponents and whenever Indians were hoping for rains to save them they were not there. Let us hope that at least today it does not rain so that Indians can wrap up the match and retain the number one ranking.
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