How SA batters neutralised India’s pace ace
MUMBAI: Eight wickets to get with 122 to defend, India needed their bowlers to be at their sharpest, if not at their magical best. With Mohammed Siraj injured, it was largely down to three pacers and R Ashwin.
A tight equation, but India would have fancied their chances with a certain Jasprit Bumrah leading the attack along with Mohammed Shami. The pressure had to be applied from both ends.
Since Bumrah made his Test debut in South Africa in 2018, he has more often than dazzled in such tight match situations. Not on Thursday. The home team knew the danger and were ready with their home work.
The conditions were good for pace bowling with rain lashing Johannesburg through the day and play only beginning late afternoon under an overcast sky. To the dismay of the Indian cricket fans, their main weapon, Bumrah went wicketless, returning with figures of 17-2-70-0, conceding runs at 4.11. A sharp contrast to the first Test, where he picked up crucial wickets to finish with a match haul of five. In the second Test, the home team batsmen restricted him to a lone wicket in the first innings, that of lower order Keshav Maharaj.
There was no surprise when captain KL Rahul began the proceedings with Bumrah. With his very first ball, he showed what danger he could pose on this spicy surface, with a vicious leg-cutter that moved sharply away from Rassie van der Dussen. The only runs in the first over came off two leg byes.
The fast bowler who hides a mean streak behind a smiling face had roughed up Elgar on the third evening with a hard bouncer. But on the fourth day, his direction was a bit off. In his second over of the day, Bumrah sent down a bouncer high over the keeper’s head to gift five runs, in a nine-run over.
In the following over, Bumrah provided another proof to van der Dussen of the danger he could pose if he was allowed to settle into his rhythm. The fourth ball that the SA batsmen faced took off from a length and took the shoulder of his bat, but luckily for the batsman it ballooned over the slips. The total at that time was 139 for two. The pitch was offering more assistance due to the moisture and there were cracks around the good length area from Bumrah’s end which he was looking to target.
Then, with great courage and concentration, captain Dean Elgar and Dussen went about damping the Bumrah threat. The game plan looked simple. Dussen took his chances with Bumrah, while Elgar played the patience game after having fallen to Bumrah in both the innings of the first Test.
In his fourth over of the day, Dussen picked a couple more off Bumrah by pushing through covers to bring down the target to 99. In the next over, a frustrated Bumrah tried to pitch fuller but the SA No 4 leant into the drive beautifully to send it past extra cover for a four. With no wickets in five overs, captain Rahul was forced to take off his main weapon with figures of 15-2-59-0 and replace him with Shardul Thakur. It was a decisive moment from SA’s point of view.
When, as a last move in the game, the India captain brought back Bumrah in the 62nd over, Dussen had fallen for 40. Temba Bavuma took over the responsibility to handle the pace ace. On the fifth delivery of the over, the SA vice-captain got into a brilliant position, leant on to the ball to play a fine cover drive to find the fence. Bumrah followed it up with a searing bouncer heading towards his head but Bavuma was equal to it, arching to evade it. To add to Bumrah’s frustration, he had overstepped, the additional run helping South Africa total touch 200. The diminutive batsman followed it up with another cracking cover drive off Bumrah in the following over.
“Every Test match we play we feel we should win and want to win. That’s the kind of team we are, we compete really hard and we leave everything on the field,” said stand-in skipper KL Rahul.
“So, yes, a bit disappointing but credit to the way South Africa played. They really batted well and bowled well. We all felt we could do something special, 122 wasn’t going to be that easy to get, the pitch was up and down, but like I said, the South African batsmen were really determined and got the job done.”