The India vs. South Africa test series has been in the news ever since it started. The first test match was a big embarrassment for India, as it conceded a defeat by an entire innings and some runs.
However, India seemed to change things around in the 2nd test match. After winning the toss, South Africa chose to bat first.
India Started on a Strong Foot
It looked like we might see a strong total on the board. But to everyone’s surprise, India managed to get their entire team out for a paltry score of 55.
It looked like India was all set to win this game easily. We would see them revenge the embarrassing defeat of the first match. But then came another shock.
The Calm Before the Storm!
First things first, India lost an early wicket in Yashasvi Jaiswal, who got bowled by Rabada without opening his account. But that was only the tip of the iceberg.
However, it looked like a minor hiccup as Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill seemed to steady the ship. They both added 55 runs for the second wicket, with valuable contributions from both the batsmen.
Even after Rohit fell when India’s score was at 72, Kohli joined hands with Gill to continue to build on the foundation. Rohit departed after scoring a surprisingly quick 39 off just 50 balls, blasting as many as 7 boundaries.
Shubman was next to fall on 36, when India’s score was 105 runs. It was still not too bad. Far from what was about to come!
The Glorious Downfall
But while Kohli kept holding one end, the other end kept self-destructing. Shreyas Iyer went without scoring a run with the team’s score at 110.
Then came out KL Rahul. While he himself didn’t score much, he at least tried to hold one end while Kohli continued to score some runs at the other.
But once KL Rahul departed at 8 runs with India’s score at 153, it was absolute mayhem! This score might not have looked too bad considering South Africa could only score 55 in the first innings, but what followed for team India led to the creation of the worst record ever in world test cricket.
From 153-4, India were all out at 153. That’s correct! 6 wickets gone without scoring a single run. The first to fall here was of course KL Rahul as mentioned above.
But then Ravindra Jadeja and Bumrah, too, fell without scoring a single run. Maybe Kohli too got under pressure seeing this kind of downfall.
This made him do a mistake, which costed him his wicket. He scored a courageous 46 runs off 59 balls, including even a six!
After Kohli’s wicket, India was already 153 for 8. If the established middle order couldn’t make any difference, what could the tail-enders do?
Siraj and Praish Krishna fell on consecutive balls, of course without opening their accounts. And then there we were! Staring at the worst downfall ever in the history of world test cricket.
A team like India going from 153-4 to 153-10. A mind-boggling 6 wickets for 0 runs.
Questions and Criticism Follows
After the ODI World Cup Final loss, India were already under heat. From the rising stars like Shubman Gill to the captain Rohit Sharma, everyone was being questioned.
But it looked like India might redeem themselves by winning a test series in South Africa playing against South Africa for the first time. But the first test match loss by a whole innings shattered those hopes as well.
While the 2nd test match again showed some signs of revival, India again made a collective blunder! While still leading by a little under 100 runs, losing 6 wickets without scoring a single run is not going to win them any praise by neither the fans nor the critics. This is especially considering that it included 3 wickets of batsmen and 1 wicket of all-rounded Jadeja.
India may or may not be able to win this test match from this point. But questions are already being raised on the players.
Some critics and cricket experts think that this team is far from an ideal test team. It’s more of a hybrid of a test and a T20 team.
Yashasvi Jaiswal has failed to make a mark, while Shubman Gill hasn’t impressed much either. Rohit Sharma did well to score 39 runs in the second test after getting out for 5 and 0 in the first, but his quickfire approach might still a matter of concern for the team management.
It was only Kohli and KL Rahul that showed some character. The bowling has been subdued as well, barring maybe Mohammed Siraj.
Bumrah didn’t live up to the expectations, and Shardul Thakur’s lack of both wickets and control over his bowling is infuriating for the fans.
We hope India bounces back from this stage and manages to win this match. But that may only solve the problem partially. Regardless of the win or the loss, India still seems to have a lot of brainstorming to do!