That has been the case.”But it’s never a bad time to start anything”. Apart from the fielding, South Africa could look back at the wide lines and lengths that kept beating the bat but were not full enough to take the edge. In times that have not gone our way, if we can change things around, that will build characters and individuals.
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They lost their last six wickets for the addition of 43 runs with all the five pacemen that South Africa used getting into the wickets column while eight of India’s batsmen didn’t reach even the double digit.
Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith has raised fingers at India skipper Virat Kohlis leadership credentials, asking if he really is the right choice for captaincy in the longer run.
India were bowled out for 187 in their first innings on Day one of the third Test against South Africa here on Wednesday. If you have that, you can compete.
South Africa replaced spinner Keshav Maharaj with a medium pace-bowling all-rounder in Andile Phehlukwayo. His first run was met with wild cheers by the Johannesburg crowd and the batsman himself was smiling; as were the India dressing room. “If we do think of leaving of him out, you have to be 100 per cent sure that we have enough”. One wouldn’t have happened without the other, so to say. Now, he stands on the brink of another 3-0 score-line, but with fortunes reversed, as no Indian team has previously been whitewashed on the South African soil. If a couple of players were able to get a half-century, the results would have been changed tremendously as India lost both the matches by a few margin. “First innings is key for India”.
Pujara received sarcastic applause from the crowd as he clipped a ball to the leg-side for his first run after an age of blocks, leaves, and misses.
India were reduced to 13 for two as Murali Vijay (8) was also caught behind off Rabada in the ninth over.
After the series defeat, Virat Kohli and Co aiming to bounce back in Johannesburg 3rd Test match to get into the track.
OVERS 72: Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma are somehow managing to stave off the probing spell from the South Africa bowlers.
The match can also be streamed live on Sony LIV. At Centurion, on a flatter pitch, they were tidy without looking especially threatening.
“I don’t know, when I look at him, if he is a long-term captaincy option for India”, Smith said at a SuperSport breakfast event. In 2006, when India won here, it was S Sreesanth’s superb swing bowling that set up the victory. Bhuvneshwar Kumar comes in for R Ashwin as India go out with all pace attack.
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It means the decision will hinge on whether the Proteas want to strengthen their batting by including de Bruyn, bolster their pace attack by opting for Phehlukwayo, or sticking with Maharaj, who took 48 wickets at 23 past year. Groundsman Bethuel Buthelezi was also reported as saying that his intention was on preparing a “green mamba” – which is to be interpreted as a green pitch offering venomous assistance to the quick bowlers. Without grabbing their chances, India will struggle to take anything from the series.
