South Africa's wrecker-in-chief Dale Steyn on Thursday questioned India's wisdom of electing to bat in the second Test despite being unhappy with the pitch.
"I was surprised. I haven't played too much in the subcontinent, especially in India, and I've never seen a pitch like this, with so much grass. Maybe, it played more into our hands.
"From what I read in the papers, there was a bit of an argument between the curator and the captain of the Indians. They probably didn't get what they wanted. If they didn't get what they wanted, then you have to ask the question: 'Why did they bat first?' If you always thought it was going to be green, then, maybe, you made the wrong decision," said Steyn in Ahmedabad at close of play on Day 1 of the second Test.
Steyn ripped through the Indian batting line-up, claiming five for 23 in eight overs, to bowl out the hosts for a lowly 76 in just 20 overs. Fellow-pacers Makhaya Ntini and Morne Morkel also made most of India's fragile batting, claiming 3 for 18 and 2 for 20 respectively.
"The wicket helped us here a lot more than it did in Chennai. There was a little bit of movement, which we didn't have there, and that assists you in one way. It probably scared the Indians a bit once one or two wickets fell and the ball seemed to be moving around. It just looked like it sent a couple shivers down the Indian batting line-up. It looked like the guy that came in next didn't really know how to approach it and how to play the game," said Steyn, who claimed his second successive five-wicket haul.
He said the Indians looked totally clueless once they lost a few early wickets and the South African pacers made the most of it.
"I am not too surprised. That's the vibe they have given off to us. Once one or two wickets fall and things kind of go wrong they are pretty weak and the batsmen to follow didn't look they knew what they wanted to do. They didn't have a game plan or strategy. They were bowled out for 76 and, I guess, that's what happens when you don't have a game plan or strategy," he said of the Indian team.
The 24-year-old fast bowler has been in red hot form in recent months. He claimed 15 wickets in two Tests against the West Indies in January, followed by 14 in two Tests in Bangladesh the following month.
Steyn said the ball that got rid of Rahul Dravid was his most cherished delivery of the first innings and he is hoping to produce more of the same in the second essay.
"Yes, that was probably the best ball. Hopefully, I can deliver a few more of those in the second innings."
"Sehwag tends to play skywards towards the slips or leave his bat hanging out towards the slips, so there's always the possibility of an inside-edge. His wicket was pretty decent as was that of Dravid. They are two good batsmen and that's two wickets you definitely want to be getting before the game," the pacer added.
While South Africa came into the match well-prepared, it seems the Indians were caught napping. Steyn said his team gauged the wicket pretty well and took full advantage of the Indian batsmen's lack of footwork.
"When you get a wicket like this, if you don't bowl full, you're not going to find the edge of the bat; so you've got to make a decision as to exactly where you're going to bowl. Bowling short is one thing, taking the batsman's feet away, but it's that follow-up ball that always gets you a wicket. I think from reading in the papers they were not going to come forward before the ball was bowled so maybe that helped us.
"Then we were able to bowl good-length balls. The ball hit the stumps a lot and there were a lot of inside-edges because nobody was really committed on the front foot. Anything that was short they kind of got away from and it looked like they played it relatively well. It was the full ball that got wickets," he said.
With a healthy lead of 147 runs and six wickets in hand, Steyn said South Africa are comfortably placed and will look to stretch their advantage on the second day.
"On a pitch like this, especially against a team that just got bowled out for 76, then you aim to get ahead of them and it hurts a lot. Every other run ahead of their total is like gold, so to have a good lead of 140-odd with only four wickets down allows us to come here tomorrow, and, who knows, maybe we can play with a bit of freedom and up that lead to quite a big total. Then the pressure's all on them. They have to do something. You can't go into the last Test match losing this game. I don't think drawing the series at home it what your teams wants to do."
