Bath in the Ganges...

And live to fight another day.

    It’s much too easy to put the boot in and give any team a thorough kicking after a result like that but nothing can be gained or achieved, unless the venting of personal anger and frustration is counted as an achievement.

    In case you haven’t already read it, South Africa’s 83 all out equalled their second lowest ODI total and the defeat, by 243 runs, somewhat outstripped their previous low-point of 180 runs against Pakistan at St.George’s Park in 2002. No, I don’t remember that game, either.  

    The sense that a defeat was imminent may have led to my reminder a couple of days ago to appreciate the quality of performances the Proteas have delivered so far. Nobody imagined they’d be humbled quite like this, but they’re not the first team to be on the wrong side of a thrashing in the most one-sided World Cup ever. South Africa have handed out 134-run and 229-run beltings to Australia and England.

     Marco Jansen and Lungi Ngidi looked nervous and tense before either had bowled a ball. There’s no crime in that. They may both have played in the IPL and experienced large crowds, but nothing, literally, could prepare them for the atmosphere of a World Cup game against India at Eden Gardens in front of 60,000 people.

    A decade ago, when Gary Kirsten was Proteas coach, he organised an extra day in London on the 2012 tour of England for the players to spend a quiet morning at Lord’s, on a demystification tour. Several of the 2008 team, notably Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, had been overwhelmed by the ‘occasion’ on the first day of the Test and performed poorly.

    A similar venture would have been pointless on this occasion. Eden Gardens on a non-match day is just a big, concrete stadium. It was obvious however, as you will have noted from the previous day’s columns, that there was something wrong with the Proteas’ approach. It may have helped to talk about the possibility of being overwhelmed by the noise and fervour rather than it being ‘just another game of cricket’.

    Still, as Rob Walter said afterwards, it wasn’t a ‘must-win’ game and they live to fight another day. Perhaps, even, with this chastening experience as an asset. What we do know for certain now is that, whoever may deny India the title of world champions, will have to catch them on a bad day. A really bad day.

    It would be remiss of me not to introduce you to the Ganges River before I leave Kolkata tomorrow morning. I enjoyed an early morning run while the streets were quiet and headed for the iconic Vidya Sagar Bridge. India wakes up late, generally, and goes to sleep late. So 7:30am feels like 4:30am in many other major cities.

    The varied wonders of Indian travel revealed a direct flight from Kolkata to Ahmedabad tomorrow. With three hours in the air, we’re aiming for a nine-hour trip. Hopefully. SpiceJet offer a pre-paid meal when you book. I’ve gone for the chicken tikka sandwich. Will let you know. I’m expecting the best.  

And finally, Ravindra Jadeja scored 29 not out from 15 balls to put the game completely out of South Africa’s reach and then took 5-33 to win the game. And the man-of-the-match goes to Virat Kohli who batted the whole innings for himself.