It was South Africa’s day on Monday and it is the first time in this series that the hosts have completely owned a day of Test cricket. The hosts lost the toss and were asked to bowl first and the bowlers responded really well as they bowled India out for just 202.
India started well as the openers saw off the first hour and added 36 runs. But once Marco Jansen broke the opening stand, the South African fast bowlers kept the pressure on. Stand-in captain KL Rahul struck a half-century and Ravichandran Ashwin contributed with a vital 46 batting at No. 7. Apart from that, none of the other batters came to the party as the South African pace attack made merry.
South Africa batted for 18 overs and lost only one wicket which was off Aiden Markram. Mohammed Shami was the man to pick the sole wicket for India as the hosts finished at 35/1 at stumps.
Here are the talking points from Day One.
No Virat Kohli but stand-in skipper KL Rahul steps in and stands tall once again
It was a huge surprise when KL Rahul walked out for the toss alongside Dean Elgar after Virat Kohli suffered from upper back spasms which ruled him out of this game. But it was a phenomenal moment for Rahul who has had a magnificent run in the last few months. From not being a certain starter in the Test team to now, leading the side in the absence of Kohli, it’s been a dramatic and a magnificent turnaround.
And the Karnataka lad led from the front. He was once again the lone warrior of the batting line-up. On a pitch that was playing tricks and had lots of uneven bounce, Rahul showed excellent grit and character to score a half-century on captaincy debut. He waited for the loose deliveries and pounced on them once they were on offer. It was his knock of 50 that kept the India decently placed in the first couple of sessions.
Time ticking for Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane
Ahead of this tour of South Africa, there was pressure mounting on Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. The experienced duo have been way too inconsistent and they weren’t inspiring any sort of confidence either with the way they have been batting. Three innings has passed and not a lot has changed on this tour of South Africa.
Rahane looked fluent in the first Test but couldn’t make his starts count. His place is in scrutiny first when compared to that of Pujara. The former vice-captain didn’t even feature in the second Test against New Zealand at home. He has mustered just 751 runs at an average of 24.22 which includes just one hundred and two fifties since the start of 2020. He’s had as many as 20 scores of under 25. His returns are even worse if we see from January 2021. Rahane has scored just 479 runs in 24 innings averaging a mere 19.95.
Meanwhile, Pujara has played quite a few gritty knocks. He was excellent in the two Tests in Australia in January 2021 and played a couple of solid knocks in England as well. However, consistency has eluded him as well. He averages just 25.52 in Test cricket since the start of 2020. Pujara has been facing a lot of deliveries and in this period, he faces about 76-77 balls per innings but the runs just haven’t come. The starts that he used to convert have disappeared.
Thus, while India are getting good starts from their openers, the engine room of Pujara, Kohli and Rahane have been a huge let-down. Pujara and Rahane’s time is surely ticking sooner and they could have another innings or at the maximum another Test match to revive their careers.
Ravichandran Ashwin’s 46 lifts India to 202
When Ravichandran Ashwin walked out to bat, India’s score read 116/5. India’s best batter KL Rahul had just been dismissed and India’s middle-order had once again disappointed. Moreover, with the way the pitch was playing, there was a risk of India being bowled out in no time. But Ashwin ensured India got to some sort of a respectable total of 202.
The Tamil Nadu off-spinner played his shots from the get-go and wasn’t afraid to take the attack to the South African bowling attack. He got the boundaries regularly and kept the scoreboard ticking. In fact, he even outscored Rishabh Pant in the 40-run stand they shared for the sixth wicket.
South African pace attack makes full use of the conditions
In the first Test, the South African fast bowlers were pretty inconsistent on the first day and that resulted in India racking up a big score. As the first hour of the first day of this second Test came to an end, it seemed like, this game was going down a similar path. But things turned rapidly.
The Proteas fast bowlers came back strongly and were spot on with their lines and lengths. The pitch was their ally as well as there was considerable movement alongside the up and down bounce. Hence, they made full use of the conditions and kept chipping away with wickets.
Marco Jansen was the pick of the bowlers. The tall left-arm fast bowler consistently troubled the Indian batters with movement and bounce. He was the one who got the big scalps and every time a batter was looking set to take the game away from South Africa, Jansen came in and got the breakthrough. He finished with four wickets.
Duanne Olivier was inconsistent but he did bowl some hard lengths and reaped rewards. He broke the back of the Indian batting line-up with the wickets of Pujara and Rahane. Kagiso Rabada also chipped in with three wickets as South Africa bowled India out for 202.
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