Toss: SA chose to field. STUMPS Day 1: IND 208/8 (59). KL Rahul 70(105)* . Virat Kohli 38(64).
It is Boxing Day. South African captain Temba Bavuma won the toss and chose to field first on a damp overcast morning. Start of play was delayed due to rain, and an already green pitch just became a lot more treacherous to bat on. India picked up where they left off in the Caribbean tour with Rohit and Jaiswal opening. A decent crowd at the Supersport park in Centurion awaited the start of another exciting Boxing Day fixture.
Rabada PULLS Rohit to long leg
Rohit fell victim once again to his favorite shot - the pull shot. The plan versus him was simple, bowl in the short fullish length, and Rohit will do the rest. And surely he did. KG kept bowling short of length to Rohit, and soon enough, the Indian skipper lost all patience and pulled one directly to a fielder at long leg. Rabada and South Africa get their first wicket, and India is one down early on boxing day.
Gill walked in to bat at number 3 for India. And the youngsters faced an ominous challenge to face the fierce speedsters on a difficult track. The ball nipped and bounced a lot. Keeper’s gloves kept facing the sky, a good indicative of the fierce bounce the 22 yards had to offer. Burger and Rabada, both bowling at high speeds and accuracy, targeted the batsmen in tandem. Burger was rewarded with his maiden test scalp in the 10th over, getting Jaiswal caught behind.
Very early on India had lost both its openers, and Kohli joined a troubling Gill with a loud cheer across Centurion. With a brief stay at the pitch, Gill never looked comfortable today. He’s been struggling since the world cup, and has had a poor south african tour so far. In the 12th over, Burger bowls a 142 clicks ripper down the leg side and Gill knicks it. DRS shows he has, and Gill has to walk back with India 24/3 and the Supersport park roaring in appreciation with faint music in the background. Things had gone wrong very quickly for India, and a rebuild was the biggest priority.
Kohli-Iyer fight back
Shreyas Iyer joined Virat Kohli with the Proteas bowling attack on fire. With two new batsmen at the crease, the first few overs were full of nerves for the Indians. Every ball that nipped past outside off, the crowd held their breaths, and so did the fans stuck to their tv sets. Kohli and Iyer batted well to build a steady partnership. And credit to Iyer for the way he began. What a wonderful counterattack he put together there. The only way to survive on that grueling wicket was to take the Bazball approach. He hit a few boundaries to both Rabada and Burger in his first few balls. And India survived the remainder of Rabada and Burger’s spell.
Coetzee and Jansen were brought in for a change, with conditions getting slightly better to bat on. With the sun beating down, the pitch gradually lost moisture. Make no mistake, South African conditions are never easy to bat on. You need to battle hard and make very few mistakes to survive there. But immediately after they began, Jansen dropped Iyer in the 14th over, and in the very next over, de Zorzi put down Kohli. It became a matter of what ifs. If Iyer and Kohli had gone back there, India would’ve probably been at a point of no-return. Instead, a 68-run partnership takes India to lunch and beyond, with a respectable score.
Rabada returns post lunch, and he gets Iyer off a beautiful delivery. The ball around fullish length, dips and catches Iyer off guard, he is bowled. When the fight back was going well, Rabada striked again. KL Rahul walks in, and he is vaguely uncomfortable to start. He tries to hit each ball he faces, and got lucky a lot of loose shots didn’t catch his edge.
Kohli vs Rabada
Though short lived, Kohli and Rabada’s battle early on in the second session was a sight to behold. Rabada was beyond brilliant today. He was incredibly accurate, nipping back deliveries. Outswinging and inswinging the ball really well. The pitch also having a tennis ball bounce made it harder for batsmen to combat the swing and pace. Rabada kept bowling outswinging deliveries to Kohli, beating his edge a few times, and Kohli leaving the ball magnificently many times. Beautiful test cricket at its best on boxing day.
In the 31st over, Rabada bowled three brilliant outswingers, and Kohli left them all alone. For the last ball of the over, Rabada adjusted his line, bowled to the stumps, the ball nipping back in at first and then swinging outside off late. I felt watching that over, that Kohli had been leaving balls alone for far too long, and he might lose patience sooner or later here. And there it was, an absolute Jaffa swinging late and Kohli knicks it to Verreynne. Not much he could have done there, and Rabada should take full credit for that magnificent delivery there. India was suddenly collapsing again after lunch, and soon after another wicket fell, Ashwin walked back.
Unbelievable pace bowling was at display here. Rabada was just brilliant each delivery he bowled. He was producing a tennis ball bounce with some wild swing here. Ashwin just couldn’t do much here.
KLass Once Again
KL Rahul was at the center of another rebuild. He had the main responsibility and pressure to take India to a respectable total here. Shardul Thakur helped, easing a bit of pressure here by hitting a few boundaries here and there. And soon after, KL too took advantage of some loose deliveries off Jansen and Coetzee.
Kl really batted well there to gain confidence after a scratchy start and took center stage right when India needed him to. If he had gotten out there, India would have been in deep deep trouble. KL and Shardul got India out of a hole, and got them somewhere respectable, but Shardul fell to the brilliance of Rabada too. It was a battle till tea, Rabada was brought back, and it was some brilliant batting by KL to not only survive there, but find important runs there. Some great boundaries there gave India some cushion entering the tea break. India was already 7 down, and it was clear, it wasn’t going to be a 300-350+ score here. India had to salvage whatever they could. And they did a decent job there.
KL started off post-tea well. Didn’t let South Africa take the advantage there. He put the pressure back on South Africa. Hit a few good shots off Burger. His technique might be the second best in the current test side. Rohit is a phenomenal batter, but doesn’t necessarily have the best technique. He has impeccable timing, and can attack the bowlers very well, whilst defending enough to play long innings. But KL after Virat, has one of the most calm and composed skillful techniques. He knows which balls to leave, which balls to flick, and which balls to defend. And his unbelievable attacking game helps him in this format too. He can skillfully dominate the bad balls and capitalize on bowlers’ mistakes. He batted extremely well throughout the world cup, and has once again shown why he is one of the best batters India has, that too very flexible at that.
Bumrah fell soon after Tea, and the remaining overs were a well composed display of defense and offense by KL. He defended and left many beautiful deliveries, respecting the bowlers, but took it in his stride to hit boundaries and score quick runs off poor deliveries. He looked in absolute control before rain took over and halted proceedings for the day.
India start off tomorrow at 208/8 with 98 overs to play on all four remaining days. KL Rahul is batting on a well made 70, with Siraj at the other end batting at 0 off 10 balls. Siraj will have to play a unique role here. Play out bowlers, and take the brute of the pace and bounce tomorrow. KL will give him minimum strike, but if India wants to make 300 or above, Siraj will have to bat a good share of deliveries. I don’t think India gets to 300. Maybe 250-260 is a realistic score. Because a well-rested Rabada will be on the money in the morning. He can easily get Siraj and Prasidh tomorrow. And the Indians will be tested. How they respond will be interesting to watch. And KL’s approach in the morning will be indicative of India’s intentions and ambitions for the day.
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