CHENNAI: India and South Africa were on a new land in Newlands, literally. 642 balls. 107 overs. Four-and-a-half sessions. This is how the second Test panned out in Cape Town. As the visitors conjured a seven-wicket win to level the two-Test series, there were quite a few records too. It is the shortest in terms of the number of balls — two of the next five on the list are from 19th century. Lowest in terms of match aggregate (442) for a Test involving India and South Africa.
If Jasprit Bumrah was the star on Thursday, Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada shared the spoils on Wednesday. Apart from their bowling, this Test will be talked about for the way Newlands surface behaved. It was mischievous as batters struggled with uneven bounce. That 23 wickets fell on Day One and 10 on the next were a testament to that. Rohit said as much after the match. He said there are no complaints before adding, “...as long as everyone keeps their mouth shut in India and don’t talk too much about Indian pitches.”
“Because you come here to challenge yourself. Yes, it is dangerous. It is challenging. When people come to India, it is again pretty challenging as well. When you are put up against a challenge like that, you come and face it. That’s what happens in India, but, in India on Day One, if the pitch starts turning, people start talking about ‘Puff of dust! Puff of dust!’ There’s so much crack here (Cape Town) on the pitch. People are not looking at that,” Rohit said, adding that the match referees and ICC should keep their eyes open and be neutral.
Bumrah’s special Bumrah (6/61) ran through South Africa’s middle-order in a menacing spell, bowling them out for 176. India chased 79 with seven wickets to spare
