Dinesh Karthik has voiced his dissatisfaction regarding the pitch conditions in Cape Town during the ongoing second Test between India and South Africa. The quality of the pitch has come under scrutiny as a staggering 23 wickets tumbled on the first day of the match. South Africa, opting to bat first, faced a significant setback, being dismissed for a mere 55 runs, marking the lowest-ever total against India in this format.
The Indian batsmen, too, encountered difficulties, as they succumbed to the challenging conditions, resulting in a collapse that witnessed six wickets falling without a run being scored. The Men in Blue were eventually bowled out for 153, further highlighting the testing nature of the pitch.
Addressing concerns about the pitch conditions, Karthik conveyed his thoughts to Cricbuzz, stating:
I think if people are complaining about spin pitches on how matches can tend to get over very quickly, it is the same with pitches that aid fast bowling as well. Very hard to play on. As you can see, 23 wickets fell in one day, and some of them were unplayable balls.”
Karthik went on to say the pitch might get a demerit point for not providing a balanced competition between bat and ball.
The difference between playing on challenging pitches and playing on tough pitches is you need a bit of luck on tough pitches,” he continued. “This is one such pitch which is not purely skill-based, and you need a bit of luck sometimes. That is never a good pitch to have in Test cricket.
“I won’t be surprised if the match referee gives it a demerit point because it has not been up to the mark.”
“It was an outstanding spell of quality bowling”- Karthik on Mohd. Siraj’s Fiery spell
Commending Mohammed Siraj for his exceptional performance in the first innings, where he claimed a remarkable six-wicket haul, Karthik praised his incredible opening spell by saying,
He (Siraj) bowled beautifully. As a fast bowler, when your body is warmed up and you are in a good rhythm and you are picking wickets, you just want to keep going. You don’t want to give the ball to anyone else, and that’s what Siraj wanted to do.”
“Bowled a six-over spell, generally, seven is long, but bowled a couple of extra overs, got the six wickets in his first spell, and it was an outstanding spell of quality bowling where he picked up wickets not just because of the pitch but also the quality of deliveries that he bowled,” Karthik added.
Karthik speaking further about his RCB teammate said that Siraj effectively targeted the correct areas on a pitch that had uneven bounce. Karthik elaborated,
He bowls a very hard length to defend on, and that is the reason why he got a lot of the wickets where the extra bounce from the good length just kicked in and got the top of the bat. It was a really good spell of bowling. Right up there with some of the best an Indian bowler has bowled away from India.”
During the first innings, Siraj claimed an impressive six wickets, while Jasprit Bumrah and Mukesh Kumar secured two scalps each. Only two South African batters, Kyle Verreynne (15) and David Bedingham (12) scored runs in double digits in the innings, underlining the dominance of the Indian bowling attack.
“If it happened in India there would be a lot of debate on the pitch”- Dinesh Karthik
The wicketkeeper from Tamil Nadu emphasized that there would likely be significant talk among the pundits if 23 wickets had fallen in a single day on a spin-friendly pitch in India.
Karthik stated that there would be considerable criticism over the match not reaching the fifth day, with many critics likely expressing their disapproval. The 38-year-old explained,
23 wickets, you look at that and go, Wow! If it happened in India, there would be a lot of debate on the pitch, why it is like this, how can it happen, and a Test match is of five days, what is the hurry, etc, But yes, quite a day to start 2024.”
India registered a memorable victory in the second test, the team’s first ever test victory at Newlands, Capetown. The second test was finished in under 1 and a half days and broke the record as the shortest test match ever in terms of the number of balls bowled. The result came in only 642 balls, just 42 balls more than a regular game in ODI format.