On January 3, at Cape Town’s Newlands Cricket Ground, India and South Africa squared off in the second and final Test match. The hosts were at 62/3 in their second innings on the first day of the game after a back-and-forth exchange of runs, with Aiden Markram (36*) and David Bedingham (7*) at the wicket. South Africa is now down by 36 runs.
Bowlers Mukesh Kumar (2/25) and Jasprit Bumrah (1/25) for India contributed significantly to South Africa’s second innings. A fascinating occurrence happened shortly before the last delivery of Day 1, when Virat Kohli, remembering a move from the last Test in Centurion, approached the stumps and switched the bails. Just before Jasprit Bumrah delivery in the 29th over of the first Test, he used his act to divert the attention of the South African batsmen, which resulted in Tony de Zorzi’s dismissal.
Just before Aiden Markram faced the last ball, Kohli created a similar diversion.
Markram seemed dissatisfied with the conduct of the India batter and complained to the umpires, which in turn led to an outburst from Kohli and KL Rahul. In order to talk with bowler Mukesh Kumar about the situation, captain Rohit Sharma interfered and momentarily stopped the game. The Proteas hitter successfully faced the final delivery despite the interruptions.
Kohli swapped the bails at the striker’s end before the final ball to play mind games with Markramđ. However, Markram successfully defended the final ball of the day.#INDvsSA pic.twitter.com/b1ehA3QEB0
â Deepak Prakash (@Deepakprksh) January 3, 2024
Choosing to bat first was a terrible idea for South Africa, as they were out for just 55 runs. Mohammed Siraj’s remarkable nine-over stint, which saw him score an astonishing 6/15, made the Proteas’ batting problems much worse. The team captained by Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Mukesh Kumar each produced two wickets.
India responded with 153 for 4, which put them in a commanding position, but they lost six wickets for no extra runs as every batsman was out for ducks. During India’s first innings, Rohit Sharma (39), Shubman Gill (36), and Virat Kohli (46) shared the highest scores, with Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, and Nandre Burger taking three wickets apiece. In 147 years of red-ball cricket, the first two innings, which lasted 349 balls, comprised the second-fewest deliveries.
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