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The judgment is out. The Cape Town pitch is ‘dangerous’ as per Ravi Shastri. The former India coach, who was regularly grilled about pitches when Test matches were played in India, reckons the match referee will be taking note of the Newlands surface after 23 wickets fell on the opening day of the Test. The record for most wickets going down on the first day of a Test match belongs to Australia – 25 – with this Test taking the second position.
Was it bad pitch? Or purely poor batting? To be honest, there weren’t too many unplayable deliveries. Most of the batters were out edging the ball. Was it a 55-all out pitch? Surely not. But it certainly wasn’t a 250-300 wicket either. Usually, cracks on a pitch open up gradually as the Test match progresses, but on Day 1, there were plenty already. Ahead of South Africa’s resumption of second innings at 62/3, Shastri did not mince words and passed a typical no-holds barred verdict on the Newlands pitch.
Also Read: India vs South Africa 2nd Test, Day 2 Live Score and Updates
“The match referee will be looking at it very closely. 23 wickets don’t fall in a day. Probably dangerous,” Shastri said while speaking to Star Sports. His fellow broadcaster Shaun Pollock agreed, who added: “Yeah, you can’t give it a good rating.”
The visuals about half an hour before play started on Day 2 were somewhat promising, with heavy rollers being used to calm the pitch down. Ideally, the second day of a Test match is the best time for batting, but Pollock feels nothing will change today either and expects the game to not last beyond Day 2.
Game ending today, says Pollock
“Unfortunately, it’s the end of the Test match today for me. I believe the game is going to end today. So it’s all about what South Africa can grind out. Can they give themselves a 150 to defend and then believe? But I can’t see it changing. Yes, the heavy roller will have an effect initially but I can’t see it changing much,” added the South African legend.
Just to sum up the madness that transpired yesterday, South Africa, batting first, were bowled out for 55. India’s reply began smoothly with Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill adding a fine 55-run partnership. But the real smashing came post tea, when KL Rahul’s dismissal opened the floodgates of an unreal batting collapse. In 11 balls, six Indian wickets went down without a run scored.
FYI, the record for the shortest Test match in history is 35 overs, so if the game finishes today in lesser overs, another piece of history will be created. With India already 36 ahead, and with 7 South Africa wickets, this could get over within the blink of an eye again. Like a blur, like the entire Day 1.
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