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Former India head coach Ravi Shastri trolled India for a dramatic never-seen-before collapse in the history of Test cricket as they went from 153/4 to 153 all out. On a pitch where the bounce was hard to tackle for batters, India were in a comfortable position with Virat Kohli in the middle and six wickets in hand. But it took a turn for the worse as they lost six wickets in 11 balls and not a single run was added to the score. It is the first time a team has lost six wickets in an innings without adding a single run to the score.
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India gave away the advantage as they had a chance to win by an innings and some runs but managed to take a 98-run lead. As three wickets each fell in Lungi Ngidi and Kagiso Rabada’s overs, Shastri did not mince words. While the South African players were walking off the ground, he said, “If someone went around the corner for a dump and has come back, India has been bowled out for 153.” The 61-year-old’s comment has gone viral on social media.
The first to fall was KL Rahul who went for an upper cut and was surprised by the extra bounce. He ended up edging one to wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne. Replacing Ravichandran Ashwin in the side, Ravindra Jadeja was bamboozled by the bounce as well and handed an easy catch to Marco Jansen. Similarly, Jasprit Bumrah got caught as well.
In the next over, Virat Kohli decided to attack and lost his wicket to Kagiso Rabada. Mohammed Siraj got runout trying to get on strike whereas Prasidh Krishna was an easy target for an in-form Rabada as India were bowled out for 153.
Former Indian cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar blamed new-age batting for 23 wickets falling on Day 1.
"I think it's got a lot to do with the pitch. It's got a bit to do with the new-age batting that's maybe not focusing on defence as much, understandably because Test cricket has been the third format when it comes to priority. So if there's a bit of life in the pitch, then these things happen. It was almost like the bowlers were wearing a cape in Cape Town," said Manjrekar on Star Sports.
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