A fine performance from India’s bowlers saw the hosts complete a resounding 203 run victory over South Africa on the fifth day of the first test in Vizag. The Proteas needed to bat out the whole day, but were unable to produce a redux of Adelaide 2012 or Colombo 2014 as they slumped to a heavy defeat.
Here are our talking points from Day 4 and 5.
A more than decent debut for Senuran Muthusamy: Muthusamy produced a fine performance with the bat, scoring 82 runs across both innings and remaining unbeaten in both. He deserved his maiden half century on Day 5, but was let down by Kagiso Rabada.
While his bowling may not have been as good, the Dolphins star’s resilience and doggedness with the bat will almost certainly earn him another test cap in Pune. He was promoted up the order in the second innings, and looked comfortable against the Indian spinners- far more than some of his team mates up the order.
Muthusamy’s debut means the likes of Dane Piedt, Theunis de Bruyn or even Vernon Philander may be shown the door if the Proteas selectors decide they need changes ahead of the second test.
Second innings Shami strikes again: The Indian pacer lived up to his “second innings Shami” moniker as he tore through the Proteas middle order in the first session. Shami had the trio of Temba Bavuma, Faf du Plessis and Quinton De Kock- all key players for the visitors, bowled and then returned at the end to take out Dane Piedt and Rabada. A deserved 5fer for the Moradabad bowler.
The Rohit cuss word that paid rich dividends for India: Cheteshwar Pujara had a slow start to his innings and was on 7 off 60 odd balls when Rohit Sharma swore at him for not running a quick single. Rohit’s rebuke seemed to push Pujara into T20 mode- he scored 40 off his next 29 deliveries and eventually went on to make 81 off 148. Not only did he score key runs, but the rate at which he accumulated them also gave Virat Kohli more time to bowl the Proteas out.
The Faf leave costs South Africa again: Frustratingly for South African fans, Faf du Plessis was again dismissed shouldering arms, with Shami getting one to rattle his stumps when the Proteas skipper was on 13. Du Plessis stared at the pitch after his dismissal, but this is not the first time that he’s been out while not attempting a shot. His wicket brought about on a mini-collapse, with the visitors slumping from 52/3 to 70/8.
India (502/7 and 323/4) beat South Africa (431 and 191) by 203 runs