Nowhere to hide for India batters

India’s batsmen showed scant application as they were bowled out in a little over two hours on the fifth day of the second Test against South Africa at Centurion yesterday, with Lungi Ngidi delivering the killer blows as he completed an impressive debut.

Having begun the final day on 35 for three and needing to reach 287 to win the match and stay in the series, India lost their last seven wickets for just 116 runs in 27.2 overs to slump to a 135-run defeat.

Ngidi was the chief destroyer with six for 39 in 12.2 overs and the 21-year-old was superb in the manner he just plugged away at good pace on an off-stump channel, trusting his natural bounce to cause problems for the batsmen.

India’s slim hopes of winning on a demanding pitch for batting rested on Cheteshwar Pujara, the biggest grafter in their batting line-up and averaging 51.46 in his 56th Test.

But Pujara (19) ran himself out trying to take a third run to AB de Villiers after Ngidi had saved the boundary down at third man.

Kagiso Rabada took the remaining three wickets to fall to finish with three for 47 in 14 overs.

“When I was thrown the ball, I knew that KG was at the other end, and it was a dream come true to bowl with him. He’s a youngster too but he has a lot of knowledge, he’s No 1 in the world after all and it shows,” Ngidi said.

Rohit Sharma (47) and Mohammed Shami (28) added 54 for the eighth wicket, but can take little confidence from that because the field was spread on the boundary.

Rohit still managed to get himself out, however, a paddle-hook off Rabada being spectacularly caught by De Villiers, sprinting up from the fine leg boundary and diving forward.

Morne Morkel also took a magnificent running-and-diving catch on the fine leg boundary to dismiss Parthiv Patel (19) off Rabada and the hosts can point to their fielding as being one of their clear areas of dominance over the Indians, who dropped half-a-dozen catches.