After breaching the Centurion fortress in the first Test, team India suffered a reality check in Johannesburg as South Africa hit back to level the series at 1-1 thanks to some gutsy batting from Dean Elgar and a superb effort from the bowlers. The ebb and flow of Test cricket was on full display on a tricky surface at the Wanderers, and here are the three major talking points from the second Test between India and South Africa.
▶ The South African Pace Battery
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While Dean Elgar hit the winning runs and carried South Africa to victory on the fourth evening, this famous win was set up by the bowlers on day one as they restricted India to just 202 in the first innings after losing the toss. Despite missing one of their lead bowlers Anrich Nortje, the fearsome pace quartet of Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen and Duanne Olivier out-bowled India’s quality seam attack due to their extra height and excellent control.
The South African pacers were unplayable at times with the variable bounce on offer at the Wanderers, and with three of the four fast-bowlers under the age of 26, the Proteas have the foundation of an incredible bowling attack that can trouble teams in all conditions.
▶ India’s Middle-Order Conundrum
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Once again, when their careers were on the line, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane came to the rescue for India, putting on a 111-run partnership to give the Men in Blue something to bowl at in the fourth innings. However, despite both batters scoring half-centuries, there are still plenty of questions over their place in the starting XI, given their horrendously poor form in recent years.
Since the start of the England series in August, Pujara averages just 5.87 in the first innings in eight Test matches, while Ajinkya Rahane has averaged 21 in 14 Tests since 2021. Both batters scored a total of just three runs in the first innings at Wanderers, and with Hanuma Vihari showing much more promise and defensive solidity, now might be the right time for India to move on from their experienced duo and make the difficult decision that they have been avoiding.
▶ Lord Shardul Strikes Again
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Despite coming out on the losing side, Lord Shardul Thakur once again came to the party for India in crunch situations with both bat and ball at the Wanderers. Thakur kept India in the contest in the first innings by picking up the best figures by an Asian in South Africa of 7 for 61 to limit the Proteas’ lead to just 27. With the bat, Thakur evoked his inner Brian Lara in India’s second innings and played a stunning cameo of 28 from 24 balls to rescue the Men in Blue from a tight situation.
The Mumbai seamer may have lost a Test for the first time in his career at Johannesburg, but Thakur once again proved to be invaluable for this Indian team and showed that all you need is hard work and determination to make it to the highest level.
[Featured Image Credit: ANI]
Shivaan Shah