The excuse of the first day's wicket being too difficult to bat on seems to be grating. In addition, Tendulkar's 50th has overshadowed Kallis, Amla and ABDV's partaking of a sumptous run feast laid out by the Indian bowlers in press coverage. I think that's somewhat natural, although it appears unfair to Smith. The MoM award was rightfully given to Kallis.
His jab at Tendulkar was also somewhat out of normal. I welcome it though, because honesty is sometimes more important than political correctness. We must think about whether or not it was wise of Tendulkar to take a run of the fifth ball and exposing Unadkat to a full over. Perhaps, he was thinking that this will help Unadkat gain real test experience since the test was lost anyways. Perhaps he didn't believe in the symbolism of making SA bat again even if it was to score one or two runs. I think it was more the latter. I remember being critical of Tendulkar during the monkey-gate test for not upping the pace a notch and farming the strike more.
From my stand-point, this test only proves that India cannot compete with great fast bowling on sporting tracks. What's new? Regardless of India's batting pedigree, the lack of regular practice against good fast bowling shows. The more experienced Indian bats were able to "manage" without dominating, save the enterprising innnings from Dhoni. It also proves that Steyn is the best fast bowler of the new generation and that he is a genuine successor to Alan Donald. The furious spell of bowling in which he accounted for Dhoni was as good a spell as any that Marshall, Imran or Waqar may have bowled during my lifetime of watching cricket.
I also think, this proves that the AB arrival is complete and that he is going to be the difference maker in a number of future test matches for SA. Add me to his fan club.
Having gotten used to Tendulkar I am no longer expecting him to bat to score points. He isn't a warrior. He is a competitor, but not a warrior. Sure, he said that India made a statement on day four, but Smith thought Tendulkar needed to make a statement too. Tendulkar chose not to make an individual statement on the last day. Tendulkar used to make such personal statements with his bat such as the one against Warne in 1998.
Maybe he thought that what was done on day four was enough of a statement and it was time to return to civility. Smith sees Tendulkar the same way many others do, including the way I used to (until Gol set me straight once). They see him through their own prism of sport as a substitute for battle and see sportsmen as fighters, gladiators and warriors. Too bad that for such fans that Tendulkar doesn't see it that way.
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