A shocking collapse from the batting department left the Indian men’s cricket team in tatters and gave South Africa some breathing space on day one of the second Test match between SA vs IND at Newlands. South Africa, who were earlier bowled out for only 55 runs in their first innings within a session, managed to dismiss the Indian batters for 153 runs. But the sequence of play that headlined the day was India losing their last six wickets without scoring a run.
Skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were the only stand-out performers with the bat in the entire day. Sharma got going with some boundaries but was consistently put under pressure by some terrific bowling. Yashasvi Jaiswal was dismissed for a duck, while Shubman Gill got a start but couldn’t get going.
After the top three departed, Kohli and KL Rahul added 43 runs for the fourth wicket and it seemed like India could get to a decent score, having already taken a lead. But the team batting at 153/4 failed to add another run before getting dismantled at the hands of Kagiso Rabada, Nandre Burger and Lungi Ngidi.
South Africa bowled out for 55 as Mohammed Siraj dominates with career-best figures
SA vs IND: How the collapse unfolded
The collapse began with a triple-wicket maiden by Lungi Ngidi, where he first got KL Rahul’s wicket and then dismissed Ravindra Jadeja two balls later. To add cherry on top, he added another one in the same over, getting rid of Jasprit Bumrah.
Much to the surprise of the watching world, Indian batters were bowled out in the next over. Virat Kohli, who looked well set for a big score, was dismissed for 46 off 59 balls. After he fell to Kagiso Rabada, a mix-up between Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna saw the former run himself out.
Rabada completed the innings with his full delivery getting Prasidh Krishna to edge as Aiden Markram completed the catch in slips. A total of five batters were dismissed for a duck while debutant Mukesh Kumar remained unbeaten without facing a ball.
It was the first time that a side has lost six wickets without a run on the board in Test cricket.
Earlier in the day, India got off to a terrific start in their pursuit to draw the series, which they only achieved once in the past against the Proteas on their home turf. A magnificent spell from Mohammed Siraj dismantled South Africa’s top order, with notable contributions coming from India’s lead pacer Bumrah.
Mukesh Kumar picked up two wickets towards the end to mark his debut memorably, as South Africa were bowled out for 55 runs. Mohammed Siraj returned with career-best figures of 6/15 in nine overs. This was also the lowest score for South Africa after resuming international cricket in 1992.
Having already lost the first Test by an innings and 32 runs, India were off to a great start to draw level in the series, but the hosts are right back in the contest, who entered the second innings trailing by 98 runs.
Despite getting a positive result in the SA vs IND ODI series, only for the second time in the Proteas land, the Indian side continued to struggle in the longest format. Under Kohli’s captaincy, the side came close to registering their first-ever Test series win in South Africa back in 2022, but a late surge from the home side denied them of that chance.
