With another lacklustre performance India succumbed to South African pace in the second Test at SuperSports Park, Centurion, losing the match by 135 runs, thus conceding the series 2-0 with one more Test to go. India's batting was found wanting in the both the innings and despite Indian pacers bowling their heart out, India were always two steps behind
South Africa. Probing further the reasons for this loss, the first thing that comes to mind is what if Bhuvneshwar Kumar played this game. After claiming a six-for in the 1st Test at Cape Town the Uttar Pradesh bowler was replaced by Ishant Sharma, with the justification that Ishant will be able to exploit the bounce better.
But that is a what if situation, alongside the inexplicable exclusion of vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane in the series so far.
We try to pin point five reasons that cost India the Centurion Test:
Costly Drops
Parthiv Patel replaced an injured Wriddhiman Saha for the second Test and for someone who always had questions marks over his wicketkeeping skills, to replace India's best wicketkeeper currently, was always going to be a tough ask. And Patel's work behind the stumps, if not shoddy, was not ideal. In the first innings Patel failed to move swiftly to his right to pounce an edge induced by Ishant off Hashim Amla. If not regulation, it was a pretty easy take had Patel moved a bit quicker. Amal was on 30 and he went on to score 82.
Later on, Patel again grassed a regulation one off Faf Du Plessis late in South Africa's first-innings. Du Plessis was on 54 and even though South Africa managed another 17 runs after the drop, coupled with Kagiso Rabada's double-drop by the Indian fielders off Ravichandran Ashwin, cost India. Rabada was dropped on one and went on to make 18. The last three for South Africa added 43 runs.
In the second innings, South Africa were buoyed by 141-run stand between
AB de Villiers and Dean Elgar, with Elgar going on to make 61. However, the opener had got life when he was on 29. Jasprit Bumrah had Elgar in all sorts of trouble with a rising delivery but the edge went through the Patel and Cheteshwar Pujara at first slip. Patel and Pujara were unmoved, and it sure was Patel's catch. Had Patel went for it and took the catch, South Africa would have had an early blow on day four.
No support for Kohli
Virat Kohli silenced his batting critics with an innings of substance - 153 - in the first innings but the fact that Kohli's runs constituted to nearly half his team's runs shows Kohli was waging a lone battle. For South Africa there were five half centuries in the match, while for India after Kohli's century, the next best was 47 from Rohit Sharma. The lack of support and inability to bat around Kohli meant that India fell short of South Africa's first inning total. And when Kohli was undone by a Lungi Ngidi indipper in the second innings, India folded for 151.
De Villiers, Day 4 - 30 off 43
In the first session, India needed to strike quickly, but It took them an hour. In this time, de Villiers moved from 50 to 80 in 43 deliveries. In his own inimitable style, he took the surface out of the equation by shuffling in his crease, creating room to carve the ball into the offside and tuck it past square leg. He had a couple shouts against him, but otherwise his bat met the ball with power and precision. South Africa's lead shifted swiftly from 118 to 172 and India's ability to keep lid on de Villiers allowed South Africa to edge ahead.
Pujara run-outs, Pandya's ignorance
It is a cardinal sin to be run-out in Tests. And Pujara committed that sin twice. In the first innings, in a hurry to get off the mark, Pujara ran for a non-existent run and was run-out first ball. And in the second, Pujara got out running a third, taking on a throw from de Villiers. It was poor judgement on part Pujara, and contributed it heavily to India's loss. In the second innings, Pujara had played 47 deliveries and was the key figure in day five for India to have had any chance at overhauling the target, but his departure in the fourth dented India's chances. Not just Pujara, Hardik Pandya's silly run-out in the first innings- after being sent back he made his ground, but he did not stretch his bat and his legs were in the air when Vernon Philander's throw hits the stumps - also proved to be crucial. Pandya had done the hard yards playing out 45 deliveries for his 15 and if he had been there in the middle supporting Kohli, things might have panned out differently.
Occupying the crease
On day four, Faf du Plessis provided the blueprint of a grinding innings as he played out 141 deliveries for just 48 runs and also helped Philander with the blockathon consuming 85 deliveries for 26. What that did was, first blunt the disciplined Indian bowling attack and second, frustrate them. That allowed South Africa to nudge the lead further and that grinding innings of fortitude was missing from the Indian batsmen. After the fall of Pujara when India had just 49 on board, Patel's aggression looked good, but was it best plan according to the situation? Patel, the well set batsman, eventually fell going for an attacking shot, so did Pandya. Had these too went about the way du Plessis and Philander had, India would not have surrendered so meekly.
