The Johannesburg Test will go down as one of India's finest wins overseas ©AFP

I think the Johannesburg Test will go down as one of India's finest wins overseas and in particular I will remember the bravery and toughness of the batsmen. As indeed I will Virat Kohli's search for a win when most would have contemplated survival. It was one of Kohli's finest moments and it reinforced my view that when you throw him a challenge, offer him cricket's equivalent of a combat zone, he is at his best. His captaincy challenges are perhaps more pronounced when he is not on the field of play but that is a discussion for another day!

And so, while we must appreciate the resilience and indeed, the aggression, displayed at Johannesburg, we cannot forget that it was another overseas series lost. I thought this was India's best chance of winning in South Africa, the Johannesburg result reinforced that, and so this has to go down as an opportunity lost. Saying so is a compliment to a team that I believe has a lot of potential but needs more preparation.

It wasn't a coincidence that the performance in the third Test came after India had been subjected to a couple of tough matches. The need to play good cricket before the main cricket is something everyone has understood over the years but no one has done anything about. It is something I have been talking about for twenty years now and I am sure people older than me will put a bigger number alongside that. To know what needs to be done but not to do it suggests either carelessness or, more likely, that commerce is a higher priority. Yes, schedules are more like traffic jams these days but if you have to win overseas, then everything else must make way. The series against Sri Lanka had to be played because there are commitments to television and that eventually funds the game. But being in South Africa two weeks before the first Test was mandatory and I am sure a way could have been found.

India must never go abroad and hit the ground running again, especially in Test cricket. You can do that in one-day cricket or T20 because conditions don't change as much but it has to be mandatory on Test tours. South Africa was a lost opportunity because I think it will be more difficult to win in England and in Australia where the games could well be played in better batting conditions. India's best chance, ironically, is when the bowlers are given teeth. India have struggled the most in good batting conditions because the bowlers keep you in the field too long.

Going early wasn't the biggest learning from a lost series, just an old one reinforced. India need to find out what the best balance is and give the openers the best possible preparation for success because without a stable opening pair, India have always struggled. But balance is the key and at the core of it is the all-rounder and the commitment to playing five bowlers.

I can see why Kohli wants five bowlers and it is a sound thought if the skills within the team allow it. In India it is easier because the conditions allow not just the batsmen to be better but make the bowlers better batsmen too. Currently, in the desire to make Hardik Pandya the much dreamt of seam bowling all-rounder, India is pushing people to bat in positions they may not always be equipped to bat in. Saha and Ashwin are tough players but they average a little over 30. That is very good for number 7 and even better for number 8 but at number 6, you want more. If Pandya has to play for India, he has to play from number 6, he has to become good enough to do that, he has to put that kind of price on his wicket. I have no doubt that he has it in him to become one and maybe India will be best served by putting him there rather than allowing him the safety of number 7 where he is likely to become a luxury.

India don't play Test cricket till August now (I admire Afghanistan a lot but at the stage they are in, that Test match in June is more a welcome ceremony than a tough contest) and the period is filled with limited overs cricket. I would think a 15 day camp for at least a small group of players in the second half of June, maybe in Dharmasala, might not be a bad idea. There are two weeks between the last one-day game in July and the first Test on August 01 and I hope the ECB can be prevailed upon to provide tough competition in that period. Indeed, I foresee all cricket boards coming together on that front to improve away performances.

South Africa was an opportunity lost. The third Test showed not only what was possible but what can be achieved in future. England is an opportunity too but only if there is a commitment towards preparation.

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