Reclaiming his place after a one-match suspension, Ishant Sharma bowled with intensity and even though he went wicketless, his place in the team is now safe on the back of a series-defining performance in Sri Lanka. India had held the upper hand in the first Test in Mohali – which the home side won comfortably – and had put the South Africans in a spot of bother on the only day play was possible in the second Test in Bengaluru. For the second time in the series, they had South Africa on the mat, before torrential rain in the city washed out four days, making it the ninth shortest Test match in history. “It is the pure pressure we put on them and obviously the same vice versa”. So, it is anyways going to test the skills of South African batsmen, who are still figuring out ways to counter the spin-threat posed by the Indian trio.
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“You’ve got to give credit where credit is due and, over the past year I would say he’s been the most successful worldwide bowler in terms of spinners”, Duminy admitted.
He was modest about his own form that has seen him score 75, 47 and 28 not out in conditions that have helped spinners. Moreover, Amla leading the side in the Test matches has so far not tried to hide away behind excuses for his team’s batting failures and taken full responsibility. He had opened with Virender Sehwag and has good memories of that match. Ever since he made his debut in 2011, the offie has made an impact in every home series. It is a special feeling to come to this dressing room. “It is always nice to come here”. “I think it’s too early to answer that question because I have a lot of seasons to go”. I am working hard on my batting and my aim is to keep improving in every session. In the last two years I have been travelling around the world and have got good experience. “We know that we are still in the contest with two matches to play and the wickets are definitely going to produce results”.
The Nagpur pitch has already been in the news regarding its nature although it won’t be a rank-turner as Mohali track. On a pitch like that, should South Africa revert to their Mohali method, which was attempting to grind the bowlers out, or their Bangalore bent of mind, which involved batsmen backing their strengths and trying to express themselves?
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“We are all in a very good space”. On Jadeja’s fine comeback after being left out, Vijay said he was an asset to the team with his all-round abilities. While many batsmen struggled to find their feet, Pujara stood out and made sure that India attained a good lead to bowl out South Africa.
