Twitter Reactions: Wanderers wicket acts all nasty making life difficult for the batsmen

Is the wicket too dangerous to play? The debate is still on.

By Ankit Mishra

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2 Min Read

Virat Kohli
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Virat Kohli. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Supposedly the fastest wicket in South Africa, Wanderers prompted both the teams to drop their opener and field an all-out pace bowling attack. There was a wide coverage of grass and it was all green. The batsmen didn’t really fancy their chances and new it was going to be tough work. Day 1 took with it 11 wickets and all the batters managed was 193 runs from 83 overs of which India scored 187 and the Proteas 6.

Come day two and the ball was still doing as much. Once again a team was bowled out and the other had walked out to bat, 10 wickets fell and run scoring was as much a test of skill and application as it was about survival and getting over the jaffa that went past the outside edge or just over the stumps.

There were the snotters too and all batsmen could do was laugh about it and be thankful that it didn’t take them with it. On day 2, South Africa were bowled out for 194, there were clouds hovering over in the skies and the red cherry was moving in the air and jabbing back in and away after pitching. The Indian batters held fort much better and ended day two at 49/1 after batting 17 overs.

On the third day the wicket was deteriorating further, the cracks were opening up and the ball was misbehaving. Some pitched much fuller shot up a few stayed low. The bounce was uneven, unpredictable and left the batsmen as well as the umpires at times worried. Some nasty balls even hit the batsmen on the hands rising from fuller lengths.

One particular delivery from Vernon Philander took a piece of the pitch with it and jumped up enough to concern the umpires. They discussed it more than once in presence of both the skippers and sparked debates whether the wicket was fit enough for play to continue. Commentator Michael Holding went on to the extent of calling the pitch ‘shit’.

The eventual decision was to continue play and the Indian team is putting on some valuable runs on the board. They already have lead close to 150 and if they can extend it beyond 200 would certainly be a winning total.

Here is how Twitterati reacted to all the debate around the pitch and the nasty bounce:

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