Short & Sweet: In shortest Test ever, India beat South Africa by 7 wickets to draw series 1-1
India pressing home the advantage of having bowled out South Africa for only 55 in the first innings to win by 7 wickets.
A cursory glance at the scorecard will tell you that they needed only 79 runs and got there in 12 overs. However, that will not convey how difficult this pitch made it for even the best batsmen in the world to perform their job.
But more on the pitch in a minute.
India began the day 36 runs ahead and there were nerves in the dressing-room, Rohit Sharma admitted. “Honestly, yes, there were nerves.
Any score to get on that pitch, it was going to be challenging,” he said. «When we came up here as well, we knew that if we don’t show up properly, there is a good chance that they might get enough runs on the board.”
But India did show up well, removing David Bedingham in the first over. Jasprit Bumrah, as he so frequently does, stood tall, bowling with the skill, strength, determination and nous of a champion.
Despite Aiden Markram playing the innings of his life — combining smart shot selection with clean hitting to score 106 off 103 — South Africa could only reach 176. Markram hit the loose balls so cleanly that one landed outside the stadium.
But Bumrah kept at it, ripping out every batsman at the other end to finish with 6 for 61.
When India began their chase, it was obvious what they thought of the surface. Rohit and Yashasvi Jaiswal lashed out at virtually every ball, more than they would in a T20 match. This was not a pitch on which normal batting would be rewarded.
Shukri Conrad, South Africa’s coach, conceded as much. “You only need to look at the scores, 1.5-day Test matches. You need to look at how they chased 80,” said Conrad.
