As the fifth day is officially over in this test match between South Africa and India, it’s pretty clear that one side was able to continue showing their domination and finish this series on their own terms. Looking at this Proteas completing a clean sweep, history was created as this was the first time they ever did so in nearly two decades.
Head coach Shukri Conrad deserves a ton of credit because he has got his side playing hard and understands how to help them dominate every aspect of the game. Leading the side once again was Temba Bavuma, whose captaincy has been nothing but phenomenal, while being the biggest part in why his side has just lost one test match in about 18 months.
Meanwhile, things haven’t gone well at all for the Indian side as their struggles continue and have slowly overtaken them. With head coach Gautam Ghambir getting a ton of scrutiny for his latest decisions and continuing to change up his squad, it has been almost impossible for his group to find any chemistry.
Also, given that Shubhman Gill has missed every day in this match, that has become a huge testament to why this side is missing something that is really needed throughout this series. Knowing that Rishabh Pant finally got his chance, it didn’t go super well, and there will be a lot of questions asked about whether he can ever lead one group or will always have to remain vice captain.
India: Batting Order Heavily Struggled To Build Any Valuable Partnerships During A Pressure Day
For the Indian side today, it was pretty clear that their only goal was to bat out the whole day and potentially turn this match into a draw. One group that couldn’t even do that, none of their batters today created any big partnerships, and really was taking the lead from the front. As India were two-down to begin their innings, Kuldeep Yadav had started with Sai Sudharshan, as these two had a 19-run partnership which took them to 40/3. Knowing that Yadav was the one gone, he could only produce one boundary as the night watchman, while Dhruv Jurel ended up falling three balls after him to make this side’s score an even scarier 42/4.
With Rishabh Pant coming into the crease, he played a much more explosive game, launching one massive six and four others. Looking on the charge with Sudharshan down the other end, things started seeming like they would change, but Harmer bowled another beauty, which would end up taking him out. Being five-down, the only noteworthy partnership was between Ravindra Jadeja and Sai Sudharshan as they both went for 37 runs combined, before Sudharshan departed. Seeing that the lefty scored only 14 runs on 139, he played very defensively, and despite Jadeja getting to a half-century, many pieces around him fell in quite a hurry.
Proteas: Spinners Really Created Damage On The Indian Tracks Once Again
Looking at this match, it was clear that the Proteas spinners really dominated this pitch and were able to use it as a massive advanatage. One group that has continued providing vital turn throughout the series, the biggest name to mention is Simon Harmer, who yet again has turned out to be the most impactful piece. Someone who took 6 wickets and really fooled many batsmen who were trying to create sweeps or unconventional shots, he was great from the right side and came in angling from many different directions. Knowing that he’s slowly developing into a mastermind in Asian conditions, this is someone who got over 10 wickets for the whole match once again.
On the left side, Senuran Muthusamy did deliver a wicket in 7 overs, although he was quite more expensive. Going for an economy of 3.00, there were a few stages where he was trying to create pressure for the batter to swing, and that led towards bigger shots. Their other key piece, in Keshav Maharaj, actually delivered two massive blows while only going for 37 runs during 12+ overs. Someone who also kept his economy quite low under 3.00 and created more pressure, his consistency of finding similar angles made it harder for batsmen to attack it. Closing it out, pacer Marco Jansen was able to deliver some overs, despite not being a wicket-taking threat at all.
Also Read: IND vs SA: Simon Harmer’s 4-Wicket Haul Takes South Africa On Brink Of Whitewash