Barring the first hour, day three has been a bowlers’ day altogether.
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The left-hander was drafted into the Indian team after taking 38 wickets for Saurashtra with his spin bowling in four Ranji Trophy matches this season.
South Africa’s star batsman had to largely curb his attacking instinct, though he did reach his 50 with a four off Jadeja, and it needed a delivery of great skill to finally oust him in the 67th over, Mishra’s quicker ball catching the off stump.
Both Hashim Amla (0) and AB de Villiers (16) failed to fire and the fall of regular wickets saw India wrap up victory with two days to spare, Ravindra Jadeja finishing with 5-21.
The bowler, who ended up with a match haul of 8-76, though said that the much-hyped I.S.Bindra pitch was not as bad as it was made out to be.
It is often said that Test cricket in India crawls for three days with seemingly nothing happening before suddenly exploding to life. If we lose in England then no one asks if the track was good or not, it’s always when we play badly.
Kohli brushed aside suggestions that his batsmen were done in by the fear of spin. That’s what Vijay and I spoke about when I went in to bat (in the second innings). The player admitted such errors can sometimes make a big difference.
“I was very surprised with a few of the shots which we played in the first innings”.
“It will be an exciting and special for me tomorrow when I take field in my first home game as captain”.
Earlier India had been bowled out for 201. Elgar himself wasn’t too impressed with the wicket.
The morning session of day two in the first Test belonged to India as they snatched three wickets in an attempt to restrict South Africa’s charge in Mohali.
India, who had started the day at 125/2 in their second innings, were all out for 200 shortly after lunch.
South Africa had strong hopes of forcing victory as off-spinner Simon Harmer (4 for 61) and leg-spinner Imran Tahir (4 for 48) dismissed India for 200.
“I think it’s definitely a good wicket to bat first on”. Kohli concurred with his counterpart, “If you are an worldwide cricketer then you have to use that ability and apply it”, Kohli said.
But the experienced duo of Murali Vijay (47) and Pujara held on firmly, pitching in with crucial runs to help their team take their lead past the 100-run mark. Clearly, they got something right that most batsmen couldn’t – and Pujara said it was the communication between the two of them on what lines and lenghts the South African bowlers were likely to bowl, that was the key.
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Stressing on the role of bowlers, Kohli said getting a result is nearly always dependent on the bowlers’ performance in Test matches.
