Surface tension takes over on a pitch with varied bounce, India six wickets away from win, South Africa need 211 runs more

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Weather permitting, the Centurion Test is heading for a fitting climax on Day 5. On a pitch that keeps deteriorating with the odd one shooting up from length and keeping low at times whenever the ball hits the cracks, South Africa, chasing 305, are still 211 runs away from a win, while India need six wickets to go 1-0 up in the Freedom Series after 13 wickets fell on Wednesday.

While the target is not beyond South Africa’s reach, it isn’t going to be easy against an Indian attack that is relentlessly asking questions. After the hosts used a heavy-roller before the start of their innings, the pitch appeared to flatten out a bit, with the uneven bounce that Indian batters encountered in the first and second session of Day 4, completely disappearing. Under the circumstances, it was India’s discipline and consistent probing with the ball that led to South Africa losing Aiden Markram, Keegan Petersen, Rassie van der Dussen and night-watchman Keshav Maharaj.

Captain Dean Elgar, with an organised defense, was holding with a typically constructed 122-ball 52. On a pitch where unplayable ones keep coming, the opener has been at his grinding best, dead-batting the good ones with the steel that one associates with him. Bumrah’s and Siraj’s natural line of angling the ball away from the left-hander kept asking him questions, but with some luck — which batters are going to need in abundance on this pitch — he soldiered on, cashing on the loose deliveries to hit seven boundaries.

This is, by all means, a pitch where one wicket can lead to two or three and one where batters are increasingly finding it hard to get used to the bounce. That Elgar and Van der Dussen stitched a 40-run stand spanning 137 deliveries — the most a pair has faced since KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane played 157 balls — in itself seemed like an achievement given the conditions and attack. And it was also a vindication that you can never really feel settled on this pitch as cracks are beginning to do things that make it unpredictable.

“The wicket is challenging. In the second innings, there was more variable bounce. Considering that, we have done well so far,” India’s batting coach Vikram Rathour said. “Because of variable bounce, there are few balls that are staying low. The way we bowled today, (Wednesday), if we do that tomorrow (Thursday), will create lots of wicket-taking opportunities. The pitch is getting harder to play on,” he added.

Beginning at 16/1, with 146 run-lead, India’s intentions were clear. Make quick runs as hanging in and seeing off a period of play was not going to take them anywhere. Compared to the last session, the pitch was a lot more dangerous in the first-half of the day, with South Africa’s attack making the most of it by landing it on the right areas and making the Indian batters play. In that sense, if they go on to lose the Test, South Africa will look back at how bad they bowled on Day 1, which allowed India to post a 300-plus total.

With the seam movement making it all the more difficult, India’s plan to attack wasn’t surprising, particularly after they lost Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli. That Ajinkya Rahane (20 of 23 balls) and Rishabh Pant (34 off 34b) were compelled to take attack to the opposition in an attempt to swell the lead past 300 said a thing or two about how difficult it was hanging in the middle. In that context, Pant’s knock was worth a lot more considering he made 32 off those after Rahane perished as merely hanging in may not have taken India’s lead past 300.

The game plan for India on Thursday will be simple as Kohli kept repeating it from the cordon. As long as they hit the cracks and bring the variable bounce into play, their relentless approach will keep testing South Africa batters.

SCOREBOARD
India 1st innings: 327
South Africa 1st innings: 197
India 2nd innings (overnight 16/1):Rahul c Elgar b Ngidi 23, Thakur c Mulder b Rabada 10, Pujara c de Kock b Ngidi 16, Kohli c de Kock b Jansen 18, Rahane c van der Dussen b Jansen 20, Pant c Ngidi b Rabada 34, Ashwin c Petersen b Rabada 14, Shami c Mulder b Rabada 1, Bumrah not out 7, Siraj b Jansen 0. Extras: (b 17, lb 4, nb 6) 27 Total: (All out in 50.3 overs) 174 FOW: 1/12 2/34 3/54 4/79 5/109 6/111 7/146 8/166 9/169 10/174 Bowling: Rabada 17-4-42-4, Ngidi 10-2-31-2, Jansen 13.3-4-55-4, Mulder 10-4-25-0.
South Africa 2nd innings: Markram b Shami 1, Elgar (batting) 52, Petersen c Pant b Siraj 17, van der Dussen b Bumrah 11, Maharaj b Bumrah 8. Extras: (lb 1, nb 4) 5 Total: (For four wickets in 40.5 overs) 94 FOW: 1/1 2/34 3/74 4/94  Bowling: Bumrah 11.5-2-22-2, Shami 9-2-29-1, Siraj 11-4-25-1, Thakur 5-0-11-0, Ashwin 4-1-6-0.