India vs South Africa: Former great, Sunil Gavaskar lashes out on Kohli's team selection

Virat Kohli has always been unpredictable with his team selection. His bold decisions have surprised everyone on quite a few occasions. Kohli made three changes in the playing XI for the second and crucial encounter against Proteas. KL Rahul was brought back to the team following a poor performance from Shikhar Dhawan. Wriddhiman Saha – who had a great match behind the stumps injured himself, just before the decider.

Parthiv Patel, the backup keeping option got a chance with Saha’s injury. Also, Kohli’s decision to drop Bhuvneshwar Kumar for Ishant Sharma came off as a surprise. Bhuvneshwar was the best amongst the Indian bowlers in the first Test. Kumar also impressed with the bat, when the team needed the most.

Dhawan termed as ‘Bali ka Bakra’ by Gavaskar

Legendary Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar questioned Team India’s selection. Commenting on Dhawan’s omission, Gavaskar termed the opening batsman as a scapegoat. He said Dhawan has always been on the edge. “I think Shikhar Dhawan is the ‘Bali ka Bakra’ (scapegoat). His head is always on the chopping board. He just needs one bad innings and he is out of the team,” former Indian skipper said.

“I also don’t understand why Ishant came in for Bhuvneshwar when he had taken three wickets on the opening day at Cape Town. Ishant could have replaced Shami or Bumrah but leaving him out, I don’t understand,” lashing out on India’s team selection, the legend added.

India lost the first game to the home team by 72 runs. The batsmen stumbled in both the innings. Losing the toss, the touring party was asked to bowl first. The Indian seamers’ brilliance with the ball helped them restrict the South African batsmen for 286 after which their batting lineup collapsed for 209. In the second innings, both South African and India faced a similar fate. However, the visitors fell short of the target by 72 runs.

On the other hand, winning the toss, South Africa chose to bat first. At the end of Day 1, their batsmen amassed 269 losing for 6 wickets. Ravi Ashwin picked three wickets giving away 90 runs his 31 overs. While Ishant Sharma pulled one, all the other seamers went wicketless. Aiden Markram and Hashim Amla scored 94 and 82 respectively.

South Africa at the end of Day 1: 269/6

Aiden Markram – 94, Hashim Amla – 82; Ashwin 3-90