Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane’s saga of failure compounded India’s poor batting performance, even as stand-in skipper KL Rahul impressed with a challenging show amid the ruins on the opening day of the second Test against South Africa on Monday. Rahul’s patient 50-run knock on a day when India missed Virat Kohli due to back cramps and Ravichandran Ashwin’s cavalier 46 at the back saw India score 202 in their first innings on a bouncy Wanderers course.
On punches, Mohammed Shami sent Aiden Markram back, even as Dean Elgar (11 at bat) and Keegan Peterson (14 at bat) brought South Africa to 35 for 1. catch regulation.
Worse yet, Mohammed Siraj stumbled away with what appeared to be a hamstring strain and if the news is bad, India would be left with four bowlers.
Much of the blame, however, should lie with India’s batters, as some, like Pujara, showed no intent to score, while others, like Rahane, seemed to have no confidence at all.
It prompted the legendary Sunil Gavaskar to say it as it is on the air: “I think the next innings will be their last chance.” After giving up hope of playing for England, Duanne sent Olivier (3/67 in 17 overs), his first game for South Africa in three years, Pujara (3 from 33 balls) and Rahane (0) from consecutive deliveries to make it difficult for the Indians.
Marco Jansen (4/31 in 17 overs), with his massive frame, created awkward lengths for any Indian batter, while Kagiso Rabada (3/64 in 17.1 overs), despite not being at his best, took wickets when it mattered.
In his first match as captain, Rahul focused hard as he played 133 deliveries. He was laced with short balls. He would wave at some and duck the others pulling the ones he could.
His back foot riding was majestic and he drove the bounce while going for the flashy cut shots.
It is such a beauty of sport that Rahul, who until five months ago was banned from starting as an opener in England, is now being rigged as a captain of all sizes in India.
If the calmness of the first day is any indication, he won’t do badly.
But then there was a moment of indiscretion when he overplayed a pull shot and punched out a hole in the fine leg area.
Prior to that shot, the occasional pull he played, Rahul rolled over his bat and tried to keep it on the ground, but in this instance he came under Jansen’s short ball and didn’t get the required height. He had a nice little partnership of 42 runs with Hanuma Vihari (20) before an inspiring close-in catch from short leg Rassie Van der Dussen sent the latter back.
Rishabh Pant (17) and an attacking Ashwin (24 batting 21 balls) quickly added 40, but what India needed was a partnership of at least 75, if not 100.
At the start, Mayank Agarwal (26) looked fluid in the first hour with five limits before Jansen threw one where it was out of rideable length when it climbed up. The opener went for a drive to take that to wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne.
Rahul, for his part, survived a strong chase and a leg for appeals rejected by debutant umpire Allahudien Palekar, someone who made an impression on his debut.
But what would disappoint Pujara and Rahane the most is that on a day when they should have taken on more responsibility in Kohli’s absence, they couldn’t even bring a sense of positivity to India’s approach.
The way Pujara hopped and hopped to soaring deliveries would actually have made the locker room nervous about demons on the pitch, which was not the case. But there was definitely seam and bounce you expect here in South Africa.
He got into a shell again and felt very uncomfortable against a steep bounce that eventually became his undoing.
Olivier’s natural back-of-length deliveries were a perfect recipe for disaster as he fended off one that was wide from the short-legged fielder, but the next lobbed at the man on the point for an easy catch.
Rahane’s firing was that of a player whose confidence has been shattered.
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The ball tossed into the fourth stomp channel, leading to indecision as to whether or not to play, and Rahane dangled from his bat to catch the catch in the slips.
This match certainly won’t last long and if they can’t make the difference in the second innings, the immense patience that the Indian team management has shown towards them will surely run out. PTI KHS PM PM
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