Ian Chappell: “I watched aghast as Hardik Pandya was needlessly run out in the first innings of the second Test against South Africa”

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Former Australia captain Ian Chappell has slammed India all-rounder Hardik Pandya for failing to adhere “to the basic principles of the game”.

Chappell was referring to Pandya’s run out in the first innings of the second Test between India and South Africa in Centurion.

Having put together a 45-run partnership with captain Virat Kohli, Pandya was helping steady India’s innings after they were reduced to 164/5.

However, disaster struck when the 24-year-old was on 15 as some lackadaisical running saw him fail to ground his bat when a throw from South Africa seamer Vernon Philander hit the stumps.

To make matters worse, Pandya’s foot was in the air and he was subsequently given out. Had he extended his bat and kept it grounded, he would have made it home safely.

“I watched aghast as Hardik Pandya was needlessly run out in the first innings of the second Test against South Africa,” Chappell wrote in his column for the Hindustan Times. “I wondered whatever happened to adhering to the basic principles of the game?

“I’m not talking about coaches developing new techniques to enhance the power hitting required in the modern game; or the tactics devised to curb the flood of runs caused by the increased boundary flow; I’m talking about simple, basic principles of the game.

“These principles apply in any form of the game and ignored, they can lose games, as Pandya’s brain fade may well have done. “Always ground your bat when running between wickets,” it should have been one of the first things Pandya was told by a coach.

“There weren’t many coaches when I was growing up but I had a good one who didn’t ignore the basics of the game. With so many coaches available these days, I’m wondering whether it’s that they don’t hammer home the basic principles or the players choose to ignore them?

“Pandya’s laziness; sloppiness; arrogance; call it whatever you want, it was unforgivable. Basic principles like grounding your bat; not turning blind; always balancing yourself with a slight foot turn before taking a catch in the slips; these should be adhered to. If they’re ignored it’s a fair bet they’ll bite you on the backside at the most inopportune time.”

India went on to lose the second Test by 135 runs, which handed South Africa an unassailable 2-0 series lead. The tourists will now be looking to bounce back and claim a consolation win in the third and final Test in Johannesburg, which begins on January 24.