Going into the second day of this test match between South Africa and India, it was pretty clear that one side gained a massive edge after sticking to their plan throughout. Knowing that they are currently 480 runs ahead, the batting really stood out and were able to attack no matter what position they were at.
From 1 to 11, it was very clear that all of them had a common purpose of building up a massive lead, despite pure batsmen like Dewald Brevis and Zubyar Hamza not being put in the starting lineup. Leading this side was captain Temba Bavuma, who has motivated everyone on his team and given them confidence to go out there and play their style, no matter who is standing on the other side.
On the other hand, India struggled to find consistency with their bowling today and were dominated throughout the day. A group that had no Shubhman Gill once again, this was a massive issue because they were missing someone who was more calm in his words and understood how to play against top nations.
With Nitish Kumar Reddy being replaced by Axar Patel, it’s one move that has cost them so far, as their quality of all-rounders has declined significantly. With Rishabh Pant leading the side, it will be interesting to see how serious this side plays moving forward, after today, where they didn’t seem to prove their dedication in various different moments.
South Africa: A Strong Finish By The Bottom Orders Helps The Side Get Past 480
Looking at the way this Proteas side batted today, it was quite great to see how their ending pieces really made a difference and were able to get through many more overs. As Senarun Muthusamy was stuck at a little over 25 runs yesterday, he was able to build on that with an 88-run partnership, alongside Kyle Verreynne.
A duo that helped this side get towards 334/7 and released a lot of pressure from the day prior, Verreynne was able to hit 45 runs of 122 balls from the right side, while also adding 5 boundaries. As Muthusamy was able to get towards his half-century as well, the biggest partnership of this day was undoubtedly between him and Marco Jansen.
Building towards a 400+ score, the duo combined for 97 runs and weren’t just playing controlled, but also started playing more aggressive shots. As Jansen is a big hitter by nature, it allowed Muthusamy to look for the boundaries more and hit two marvelous sixes to get towards a maiden century in test cricket. Scoring 109, he ended up getting out at 431/8, and it gave Marco Jansen the charge of carrying out this innings.
Seeing that Jansen had the height to reach towards any ball and brute power, he smashed 6 sixes and finished with a 93 total. Carrying the load in a 31-run partnership with Simon Harmer, plus another one with Keshav Maharaj, the South African left-handed pacer’s runs helped their side reach a 489 mark.
India: Bowlers Struggled Much More Despite Conditions Becoming More Favorable For Them
On India’s side, this was one of the lowest performances their bowling attack had after both spinners and pacers were struggling to do anything. With their main piece in Jasprit Bumrah having bowled 32.0 full overs, he suprisingly stopped posing a wicket threat later on down the innings.
Although Bumrah hit the stumps against Simon Harmer to get his 2nd wicket, it wasn’t until the very end when this Proteas unit let the foot off the gas pedal. Not getting much from him, it just made Mohammed Siraj’s job even harder, as there was no response from him either after giving up over 100 runs in 30 overs and not being able to pose much of a wicket-taking threat, till breaking Muthusamy’s partnership.
The biggest question mark amongst pacers was the selection of Nitish Kumar Reddy, as he was in massive trouble during 6 overs of fast-bowling. Someone who’s never really succeeded at the international level, this was another example of that as he went for over four an over without producing any wickets.
Talking about spin, Kuldeep Yadav did add one more wicket on an absolute beauty that destroyed Marco Jansen’s stumps, but this was done after he let up 115 runs, and most of the damage was done. Ravindra Jadeja did produce a big stumping earlier on that took out Kyle Verreynne, while Washington Sundar continued having a tough time closing out the attack.
What’s Expected on Day 3?
With the third day being tommorow, this Proteas unit’s main goal will be to try getting India out as soon as possible to force a follow-on. While India is trying to avoid that from happening, they will rely on their top-order pieces like Sai Sudharsan, KL Rahul, and Yashavi Jaiswal to lower the lead by a lot.
Knowing that many of the Proteas spinners haven’t played yet, it will be interesting to see how India attacks them because the pitch has dried up a lot, plus Simon Harmer and Senuran Muthusamy have the ability to take wickets in a hurry. If they do that, there could also be potential for them to declare the score, and it will also be key to understand how various pacers like Marco Jansen perform.
Also Read: IND vs SA: South Africa In Sturdy Position