South Africa vs India, 2nd Test, Day 1 - 5 Talking Points

A day that started on a gloomy note under the scorching sun, finished on a brighter note for India who managed to grab a few crucial scalps. Proteas’ top three were amongst the runs, something which every captain admires. Aiden Markram, the youngster from Centurion, fell agonizingly short of a hundred and something similar can be said about Hashim Amla.

Dean Elgar and Aiden Markram ensured no wickets fell in the first session. Despite losing two in the post-lunch session, the Proteas held the upper hand. They dominated the first 80 overs of the game with ease and completely out of the blue, in the final 10 overs, the visitors finished the day on a high, which indeed was surprising.

The hosts finished the day on level terms with Virat Kohli and company. The game right now is wide open with South Africa scoring 269 runs for the loss of 6 wickets. Whilst Ashwin remained the star of the day, it was Hardik Pandya’s fielding exploits that brought life to this game. Here are the five talking points from day 1.

1. Refusing the new ball turned out to be masterstroke!

With the game resembling one-way traffic, any captain would’ve taken the new ball if he were to be in Virat’s position today. But the Indian skipper opted to continue with the old ball and that turned the tables around. South Africa was caught off guard with a couple of silly run-outs and some excellent bowling from the fast bowlers. No one expected the game to finish this way and Kohli will be the happier one amongst both captains.

2. Parthiv spilled a golden chance off Amla

On a flat deck which offered very little to the bowlers, a dropped catch is a cold-blooded crime. These words might seem harsh but Parthiv Patel missed out on an opportunity which a keeper of his caliber can grab on any day. The ball was angling down the leg and it took a feather off Amla’s bat, before bouncing off Parthiv’s gloves. It cost them a lot of runs as Amla went on to score a valiant 82 off 153 balls.

3. Team selection that “Exasperated” the fans and experts

Bhuvneshwar Kumar – The best bowler in the previous game, the second best batsman in terms of resilience and perseverance. Who in the world would’ve expected Kohli to drop him to bring in Ishant Sharma, who extracts more bounce off these tracks? That is what happened on Saturday and the fans were infuriated. KL Rahul was roped in for Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma managed to retain his spot. Barring the move to bring in Rahul, nothing was received well by the fans.

4. R Ashwin – The unexpected source of wickets

Many were expecting Ishant Sharma to replace Ravichandran Ashwin in the ongoing Test, but as it turned out, Ashwin retained his place. And guess what? He proved to be the game changer with the ball, something which many didn’t see coming. People still had their doubts over Ashwin’s ability on foreign tracks and he sent a strong message to everyone. Many tout him as one of the best bowlers of this generation and this is why they call him so.

5. Batting masterclass from Amla and Markram

Youngster Aiden Markram would be gutted with himself after missing out on a hundred by 6 runs. But the lad can pat himself on his back and say “Well Played!”. It was a knock of the highest quality from him, polaying some absolutely gorgeous cricketing shots. Following the suit was the ever brilliant Hashim Amla, who once again proved a tough nut to crack. Amla ran himself out towards the end of the day’s play, just 18 shy of his 29th Test century.

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