After a humiliating defeat in the first Test at Centurion, India crushed South Africa by 7 wickets in the second Test at Cape Town on 4 January, levelling up the two-match Test series 1-1.
The extra bouncy pitch of Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town provided a clear edge to pacers, both for the Indian and the Proteas side. However, for the Proteas, Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah made things a little difficult.
In the first innings, Mohammed Siraj picked up 6 wickets for 15 runs, while Bumrah took 2 wickets, limiting the Proteas innings at 55. Then again in the second innings, Bumrah picked 6 wickets for 61 runs and Siraj picked one for 31 runs.
Apart from this, India’s Mukesh clinched two wickets each in both innings.
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Earlier, there was a debate on extra bouncy pitches at Cape Town, due to which Indian batters faced some difficulties.
Following India’s win at Cape Town, former Indian opener and legendary cricketer Virendra Sehwag lauded Bumrah and Siraj for their spectacular bowling. He also supported Indian pacers for picking up quick wickets.
He took to X and wrote, “Aap karo toh Chamatkar.. Hum karein toh pitch bekaar. 107 overs – Test Match over. Also proves, anything there for the fast bowlers, we are more threatening with our quality. Bumrah and Siraj were spectacular and a good beginning to 2024.”
Also former Indian pacer Irfan Pathan too lauded the Indian bowling attack and advised overseas cricketers not to complain while playing in India. He took to X and wrote, “When overseas cricketers come to India on turning pitches they shouldn’t complain. It’s a skill they need to improve!”
Earlier, cricket legends Sunil Gavaskar and Shaun Pollock, ahead of the match, gave the pitch report, predicting steep and unpredictable bounce.
Gavaskar believed the cracks were around the 8-metre length, which shouldn’t be much of a concern for the batters at the Test level.
“If the ball stays up and down from here, the batter should be able to negotiate it, there shouldn’t be a problem. If it was fuller, it would have been very difficult for the batters to make last-minute changes. If batters cannot cope with any variable bounce from here (the 8-meter length), they shouldn’t be playing Test cricket,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports.
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