‘As flies to wanton boys are we to bowlers. They kill us for their sport.’
That might effectively have been a press release – with due acknowledgement to Shakespeare – by the Test batters union from the Newlands Cricket Ground on Wednesday. It was a bloodbath.
As many as 23 wickets fell below the bluest sky possible. The solely clouds – of uncertainty, indecision — have been within the minds of the batters.
A way of normalcy returned in the direction of the day’s finish, although. The wicket, which was fast and supplied loads of bounce – it proved slightly steep at instances – appeared to have eased a bit bit, however not sufficient to make the batters heave a sigh of reduction.
Voting strains now open for Sportstar ACES Awards 2024
South Africans misplaced solely three wickets within the second innings, however they nonetheless path India by 36 runs, at 62 for 3. It was a weird day, sure. Mohammed Siraj was the day’s star. In a sensational spell with the brand new ball, the Hyderabad seamer ran via the South African batting.
The Proteas have been bowled out earlier than lunch — after selecting to bat — for a mere 55. But, after it regarded as if they may must concede a considerable first innings lead, they got here strongly again.
The tempo trio of the ever-reliable Kagiso Rabada, the comeback man Lungi Ngidi – enjoying his first First Class recreation for over a 12 months – and the vastly promising late-bloomer Nandre Burger shared the spoils.
India was dismissed for 153 – from 153 for 4, that’s. It was for the primary time in historical past that six wickets fell in a Test innings on the identical rating.
ALSO READ | ICC Awards 2023: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav amongst nominees
One of these wickets belonged to Siraj. After claiming six wickets in a superb opening spell — his just one within the first innings – he wouldn’t have imagined that he can be required to placed on his pads, decide up the bat and stroll out to the center to style his personal drugs. Well, he didn’t fairly must face the music from his South African counterparts: he was run out after dealing with only one ball.
Siraj, nonetheless, would bear in mind what he did with the ball on today ceaselessly. He started with forcing Aiden Markram to play a defensive push, however the ball formed away late and the sting was effectively caught by a diving Yashasvi Jaiswal at third slip.
He then had Dean Elgar, enjoying in his final Test, chopping on to his stumps. It was wonderful stuff from Siraj. He bought his size good, used the bounce of the pitch to deadly impact. He made the batters play after which pay.
For as soon as, Jasprit Bumrah might play a supporting position, whereas Mukesh Kumar, coming in for Shardul Thakur chipped in with two wickets to make sure the tail didn’t wag. Wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne was the very best scorer of the innings, with 15.
India’s top-scorer was Virat Kohli (46, 59b, 6×4, 1×6), as he gave one other reminder of his class. Rohit Sharma (39, 50b, 7×4) and Shubman Gill (36, 55b, 5×4) had raised hopes of a giant lead for India, however that was to not be.
Source web site: sportstar.thehindu.com
.jpg)
