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India were hoping to win the first Test against South Africa and go halfway to their goal of winning a Test series for the first time in the country. However, that dream was extinguished by the hosts running away with a an innings victory in Centurion. While India’s top batters, with the exception of Virat Kohli and KL Rahul, failed to put the South African bowlers under pressure, the hosts managed to smash the visitors’ pacers around the park.
It meant that South Africa made 408 in response to India’s first innings score of 245 on a pitch that provided a lot of assistance to the pacers at almost four runs an over. Proteas fast bowling great Allan Donald said that while South Africa got the better of the conditions, they were also rewarded for being far more patient than India.
“I know South Africa probably got the better of the conditions, no questions about that. They pitched the ball in a 5 and 5.5 meter area and gave it a chance to do something off the deck,” Donald told PTI. “But what they did better than India…they were more patient in that area and even they used the short ball a little bit more in the second innings.”
The 57-year-old, who took 330 wickets in just 72 Tests, feels Indians were waiting for things to happen. “For India, there was one debutant (Prasidh Krishna). I thought (Jasprit) Bumrah, but Indian bowlers searched too much for things to happen. They quickly reverted to shorter balls and then lost their length a bit on the shorter side and then got opened up on either side – square leg, off side and SA batters capitalized,” he said.
Cape Town will be hard work
The second Test will be played in Cape Town starting from January 3 and Donald feels it will take a lot more energy from both sides to perform well there. “You need to be more creative in Cape Town as wickets are a lot more flatter and partnerships will stretch and that’s traditionally as someone who knows it will be tougher Tests,” he added.
Donald says if India envisage any chance of restoring parity, they need to use the new ball judiciously. “The massive emphasis is on the new ball because traditionally if there’s a South westerly wind blowing across Newlands, then you know that is going to dry the pitch up. But not in any way or form I think the pitch will turn,” he said.
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