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The second Test between India and South Africa, which Rohit Sharma's men won by seven wickets, concluded in just two days, resulting in a total of only five days of play across the two-match Test series. The first Test wrapped up in three days, and the following match lived for just one and a half day. The teams were bowled out three times over five sessions. Talking about the second Test specifically, the first day saw wickets fall like nine pins. Day 1 at the Newlands stadium recorded the fall of 23 wickets while 10 wickets tumbled on the following day. Batters from both the teams found it really difficult to stretch their stay at the crease. Meanwhile batting great Sunil Gavaskar after witnessing the batting collapse from both the teams said that the true test for batters isn't just on fast and bouncy pitches, like those in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia) countries, but also in spin-friendly conditions.
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"This is what Test cricket is all about. You are going to be tested. And I honestly believe I've always believed that if you cannot play on pitches where the ball turns into the batter, you know there is a tendency amongst the SENA country's media, particularly if you think that you know, if you can't play on fast, bouncy pitches, you're not a batter," Gavaskar told Star Sports.
"I'm sorry. You are not a batter if you can't play the turning pitch because over here for the bouncy pitch, there are two movements here. There for four spinners, where the ball is turning, you've got to go down the pitch. You've got to use the crease. All the shots can be exhibited.
"So that's you know what? I think, sadly, you know, our media should be actually writing about this. You know, our media should be talking about the fact that you know, but our media is so dependent sometimes, not all the time, on getting interviews with players, so they do not want to upset anybody. So they will not question the batting ability of some of the overseas guys because of that. But that's the way," he added.
In just five sessions, India managed to achieve what had not been achieved at Newlands, Cape Town. Rohit became the first Asian captain to lead the side to a Test win in Cape Town. The win came under extraordinary circumstances as the pitch kept the batters guessing. In Dean Elgar’s farewell Test, only Aiden Markram turned out to be the batter who was able to crack the tough code and smash a century from just 99 balls. But it went in vain as India chased down the 79-run target from 12 overs and seven wickets in hand.
India broke the record for winning a Test match in a record number of overs. The shortest-won match in the history of Test cricket took place in February 1932 between South Africa and Australia. At the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia won by an innings and 72 runs from 109.2 overs. The Cape Town Test ended in 107 overs.
In the absence of an injured Temba Bavuma, Elgar won the toss and opted to bat first on January 3. Mohammed Siraj ran riot with the new ball and registered a six-wicket haul. He accounted for the wickets of six out of the top seven batters. Mukesh Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah struck twice to wrap up South Africa's innings for 55. This is their lowest Test score since readmission.
Meanwhile, Markram after his centurion knock said that he could get out anytime.
"Certainly in some cases for sure (attack is the best form of defence). Kind of feels like a matter of time before you get out. You have to maximise and score when you're there. Squeeze a 50, it might go a long way in tough conditions. Roles and partnerships. Some person might have to hang around and let another guy score."
“Good show? Certainly not 55. It was very hard. Sometimes you find yourself nicking every ball. Felt like it was one of those days for us. Look back in hindsight, we could have worked towards 150. It would have been a good game. Difficult to come back from there,” Markram added.
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