The India vs South Africa second Test in Cape Town will be remembered for a long time. In less than two days, the game ended making it the shortest completed Test ever in the 147-year history of the format. First, India dismissed South Africa for just 55, only to be dismissed for 153 in the first innings. South Africa gave a better account of themselves to post 176 in the second innings. India, however, surpassed the 79-run target with ease with seven wickets to spare to draw the two-Test series 1-1.
India, during their first innings, were going well at one stage. They reached 153/4 but could not add a single score after that to get all out on the same score. Six wickets for 0 runs in a Test innings is a world record. Virat Kohli was one of the six batters who were dismissed at that score. After the former Indian cricket team captain departed, his wife and actor Anushka Sharma was shocked. Sitting beside her actor Athiya Shetty, wife of KL Rahul, was also shocked.
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Talking about the match, on a spiteful surface surrounded by the idyllic Table mountains, where the ball did all kinds of tricks, India made short work of the hosts with the ball on the second day, despite a heroic ton by opener Aiden Markram, and chased down a paltry target under 11 overs.
The two-day affair brought the curtains down on the international career of Protea opener Dean Elgar. With regular skipper Temba Bavuma out injured, Elgar took over the reins in the second Test as stand-in skipper. However, the hosts ended up on the losing side after two days of intriguing and, to a large extent, bizarre cricket.
Yet his knock of 185 in the opening Test, which fashioned a win for the hosts, will remain etched in public memory for a long time.
However, India’s leading pace pair of Jasprit Bumrah (6-61) and Mohammed Siraj (6-15) were the architects of India’s redeeming, series-levelling win.
Their significant contributions resulted in India needing to score a paltry 79 runs to level the series at 1-1.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, trusting his natural attacking game, came out all guns blazing from the very first ball
in the chase of 79, which could have been a tricky total on the Newlands surface.
With ANI inputs
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