Show some courage, says Kirsten

November 24, 2006 19:47 IST

South African great Gary Kirsten has identified technical flaws in Indian batsmen and advised them to work on their defensive tactics if they were to succeed in the remaining part of their tour.

The former opening batsman said the Indians tend to play away from their body on faster pitches rather than showing the courage to get behind the rising delivery.

"They were not quite there on the off-stump and it's a failing which usually causes the downfall of most opposition batsmen on South African pitches," said Kirsten.

"But for Australia, nobody seems to get it right here."

Kirsten is the highest run-scorer ever for South Africa in Tests and this is well-reflected in figures -- in 101 Tests he scored 7289 runs at an average of 45.27 with 21 centuries.

Kirsten said the problem with the Indian batsmen is that they did not try to get behind the line of the ball.

"Most of them don't get behind the line of the ball. One of the things which successful batsmen do on such surfaces is to get behind the line rather than play away from the body.

"You can get away with such a faulty technique in India where the edges fall short of slip cordon but here they disappear right into the cusp of their hands. Indians must also learn to get behind the line of the ball."

Indian batsmen were shot out for 91 in the second one-day international in Kingsmead in Durban on Sunday, mostly playing away from body.

Kirsten also said the Indian batsmen would have to come on the front foot more often than they have been doing on this tour.

"I watched them on Sunday and most of them seemed to play from inside the crease. It simply won't do on such surfaces. You need to be on lookout to come on the front foot. The more you stay on the backfoot and inside the crease, the lesser are your options of scoring."

Kirsten though sees a silver lining for India in the way he perceives the tour would pan out from now onwards.

"The rest of the pitches wouldn't be quite as difficult as it was in Kingsmead in Durban so in that respect they would have far easier batting conditions. I also feel there is a great deal of class in your batting line-up and it would come good before long.

"Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid in particular are seasoned and proven enough to leave their stamp on any conditions. They would soon be providing the thrust to your team."

The former left-handed willower, however, sounded a word of caution for the rest of the batsmen.

"I want to stress here though that a few of the youngsters in your team need to really tighten up their technique. It wouldn't work what they have been doing in India.

"They need to adapt and do it quickly. Anyway it's the hallmark of acknowledged international players that they are not found wanting on any surface. If they can do well here, it would truly get their careers going. In a way, it's also an opportunity for them."



Artidle Source : Rediff