India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate revealed why Nitish Kumar Reddy was chosen over Axar Patel in the playing XI for second Test against South Africa. After being released from the team ahead of the first Test, Reddy was brought back into the squad and replaced Axar, who hadn't been able to perfform at his best at Eden Gardens.
Ten Doeschate explained that they would have had to introduce spin early if they went ahead with only two seamers in the playing XI. This would have also made it difficult for Rishabh Pant to juggle the seamers effectively. He further stated that they decided to play Reddy so that a balance could be maintained in the team.
"I don't want to put a number on the score. We have to put our best foot forward while bowling. De Zorzi's wicket was crucial. The way we assessed the wicket, we thought it could do a bit this morning. If we played only two seamers, we may have to get spin early and it becomes difficult for the captain to juggle the seamers. If we got an out and out pacer, we would have been one batter less. On balance, we thought we could play a bowling all-rounder," ten Doeschate said at the post-day press-conference.
Ten Doeschate on importance of big first-inning total
Ten Doeschate further stated that the Indian team did well by not letting South Africa post a big total on Day 1. He pointed out that the bowlers put a lot of pressure on the batters by not letting them score easily and also highlighted the importance of a formidable first-inning total for the hosts.
"The one thing we did well was not allowing South Africa to get a big score. Although, they did not lose wickets in clump. When scoring is not that easy, it adds pressure on the batting unit. I would not blame the wicket. If you can soak up the pressure and adapt to score slowly, we need to get a big score. As I said, first innings total will be crucial," ten Doeschate stated.
An evenly poised opening day
Meanwhile, South Africa wrapped up Day 1 on 247/6 with Senuran Muthusamy unbeaten on 25 and Kyle Verreynne batting on 1. The likes of Aiden Markram (38), Ryan Rickelton (35), Temba Bavuma (41) and Tristan Stubbs (49) all played decent knocks as the Proteas did put up a good number of runs on the board. For India, Kuldeep Yadav was the top performer as he recorded figures of 3/48 while Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Ravindra Jadeja chipped in with a scalp each.