Watch: Morne Morkel gets rid of Murali Vijay and Rohit Sharma off consecutive balls

Morne Morkel bowled a hostile spell of fast bowling since the morning of the third day at Kotla, darting the short pitched stuff at the Indian openers to generate the extra bounce he is known for, off the surface and pitched the odd one up to keep them guessing. His brilliant efforts brought down India to 8/2 as he dismissed opener Murali Vijay and Rohit Sharma off consecutive deliveries.

Vijay must have felt unlucky when he was given out caught behind off a well-directed bouncer. Morkel’s tactics and efforts paid off when he managed to surprise the Indian opener with a quick bouncer. The ball rose steeply from a short length towards Vijay’s head. He was not only surprised by the bounce but also the pace and was late in ducking under the ball; he took his eyes off the ball and left his arms high as he tried to get out of the line of the ball. It looked to have brushed the arm guard while missing any contact with the bat, Vilas did well to catch it leaping high in the air to take the catch with one hand over his head. However, the umpire was convinced and he judged him out. South Africa got its first breakthrough as India’s scorecard read 4/1.

The struggling Rohit Sharma was promoted and came in to bat at number 3 ahead of Cheteshwar Pujara. However, he could not even survive a single delivery and was clean bowled by Morkel. The next ball after Vijay’s dismissal brought one more reason for Proteas to celebrate.

It was a terrific delivery from Morkel. He pitched the ball full on the off stump moved a shade out, Rohit came forward casually without his feet reaching to the pitch of the ball. He played for the angle into him but the ball held its line went past the outside edge to uproot the off stump. As a result of Sharma’s wicket, Morkel was on a hat-trick. Though the next man in Pujara denied him the honors.

Watch: Morne Morkel gets rid of Murali Vijay and Rohit Sharma off consecutive balls:

https://twitter.com/cricingif/status/672996624642215936

https://twitter.com/cricingif/status/672998928594374656

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