Stuart Hess at SuperSport Park
Day 1 Stumps: India 272/3
Centutrion - There was one team at Centurion that played their last Test three weeks ago and the other, who last played a Test match six months ago.
The differences were stark. You can have all the match simulations you want, it ain’t going to properly prepare you for the hour to hour, session to session, day to day demands of the five-day format. It’s not an excuse Dean Elgar’s team want to use, but it is the fact at Centurion. It might take the home team a few days - possibly even the whole Test - to get the players in some rhythm and the danger of that is, they could hand India a massive advantage to start the series.
The Proteas played in fits and starts on the opening day at Centurion - the requisite lines weren’t located with sufficient consistency, while lengths were a touch too short from the seamers.
It was to be expected, which is why anyone who has played cricket recently, and particularly if they were in form, seemed a logical choice to start. Marco Jansen’s presence in the starting team for the first time, was a surprise. It’s not that the 21-year-old left-arm seamer lacks the ability or hasn’t bowled well domestically, it’s just that South Africa has someone better at the moment in the squad in Duanne Olivier.
Given that Anrich Nortje’s absence meant there would be a change from the last time SA played a Test in June, and the fact Lungi Ngidi hadn’t played any competitive cricket in five months, it was a risky decision by the selectors to have Ngidi and Jansen starting together.
The case Olivier has made is a very strong one and in convenor of selectors Victor Mpitsang’s own description the 29-year-old fast bowler has “dominated” the domestic scene this season. It was a case the selectors chose to ignore.
Instead Jansen experienced a difficult day on which his control was poor, and then when he did create chances, one was dropped by Quinton de Kock to give Mayank Agwarwal a life, while another edge from Ajinkya Rahane late in the day, fell short of Aiden Markram at second slip.
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The Indian batters were quickly into their rhythm in an opening session where conditions seemed to be favourable for bowling, although the pace off the surface was slow.
Overall Kagiso Rabada was the best of the SA bowlers, constantly troubling the tourists and his post-lunch spell to KL Rahul in particular was a testing one.
Ngidi, who looked clumsy in the morning, bowled with more intensity after lunch, targeted the stumps and because of the natural bounce he gets is always more troublesome for opposition batters. In fact Agarwal, after playing very well to make 60, might still be thinking the DRS technology needs some readjusting after he was dismissed lbw. To the naked eye - and even on the original replay - the ball looked like it was going over the stumps.
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However the Indian openers had played their roles superbly, in particular their judgement of what to leave was accurate and only when the ball was in their zone, did they look to attack. The benefits of lots of recent Test play was clear to see in their method and in Rahul’s case, when he opened up, produced some lovely shots on his way to a seventh Test century - six of which have come outside of India. He finished unbeaten on 122, hitting 17 fours and one six off the bowling of Keshav Maharaj.
Virat Kohli again failed to turn a good start into something substantial, a habit that has crept into his play this year in which he averages just 28 in Test cricket.
His team’s position after the first day would have eased some of his angst however and especially seeing Rahul, the team’s vice-captain contribute in such dominant fashion.
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