New Delhi. It is becoming difficult for the Indian cricket team to save the Centurion Test match. Team India may suffer a poor performance from their batsmen with a loss on the first day. Kagiso Rabada’s 5 wickets saw India bowled out for just 245 in the first innings in South Africa. After this, with the help of Dean Elgar’s marathon innings, they scored 408 runs and took a huge lead of 163 runs. India lost both the openers early in the second innings as well and now the match seems to be slipping away.
The first match of the two-match Test series has not gone well for Team India so far. After winning the toss on the first day, South African captain Temba Bavuma decided to bowl first. Experienced fast bowler Kagiso Rabada broke the batting order of Team India by taking 5 wickets including captain Rohit Sharma. KL Rahul was left alone till the end and scored a century to take the score to a respectable score of 245 runs.
The bowler also failed miserably
After the batsmen of the Indian team flopped badly, the condition of the bowlers was also seen to be bad. In reply to 245 runs, South Africa scored more than 400 runs in the first innings. Dean Elgar, playing the last Test series, tore the bowlers apart and scored 185 runs with 28 fours. 23-year-old Marco Jensen returned with an unbeaten innings of 84 runs.
Saving a match can be difficult
It is looking difficult for the Indian team to save the Centurion Test match. Team India lost both their openers in the second innings after scoring 15 runs before 6 overs. Rohit Sharma was clean bowled by Kagiso Rabada without opening the account. After this, Nandre Berger dismissed Yashaswi Jaiswal for 5 runs and sent him back. After Thursday, there are two full days of matches left. After ending the lead of 163 runs, the Indian team will have to give a target against South Africa. For this, India will have to score at least 500 runs. The task seems impossible given the hosts’ bowling at the moment.
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Tags: India vs South Africa, Kagiso Rabada, Rohit Sharma, Yashaswi Jaiswal
First published: December 28, 2023, 18:20 IST