The second Test match between South Africa and India at the Wanderers hangs in the balance on Day 2, as India lead South Africa by 58 runs.
South Africa resumed batting on Day 2 at 35/1, with Dean Elgar and Keegan Petersen on 11 off 57 balls and 14 off 39 balls, respectively. They were met with a disciplined Indian bowling outfit that made scoring challenging in the first session of play.
Yet, while Elgar held up one end, Petersen displayed a vast array of strokes, and found the boundary regularly. India’s frontline seamers, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Mohammed Siraj, were unable to break the partnership, despite bowling tight lines and lengths.
It took all-rounder, Shardul Thakur’s knack of breaking partnerships that reduced South Africa from 88/1 to 102/4. Elgar departed for a hard-earned 28 off 120 balls. Petersen brought up his maiden half-century but soon departed for 62 off 118.
Rassie van der Dussen was dismissed for 1 off 17 balls, edging behind to Indian wicket-keeper, Rishabh Pant. Van der Dussen’s dismissal sparked controversy because replays suggested that the ball may not have carried cleanly to Pant. Elgar and the team manager spoke to the Third Umpire regarding the dismissal, but the final ruling was that there was not enough conclusive evidence to suggest that the ball did not carry to Pant.
Temba Bavuma and Kyle Verreyne set about rebuilding the innings with a 60-run partnership. While Verreyne was defensive in his approach, Bavuma employed a counterattacking approach. In particular, a straight drive off Bumrah and a six off Ashwin over Deep Square Leg were standout shots in Bavuma’s innings.
Verreyne was undone by an inswinger off Shardul Thakur for 21 off 72. Bavuma, after scoring a well-compiled 51, was dismissed by Thakur after nicking a ball going down the leg side. Marco Jansen and Keshav Maharaj tried to get as much of a lead as possible, scoring attacking 21 runs off 34 balls and 21 runs off 29 balls, respectively.
Ultimately, South Africa finished with 229, leading India by 27 runs. Shardul Thakur finished with career-best figures of 7 wickets for 61 runs in 17.5 overs.
The Indian batters began their second innings aggressively, with Mayank Agarwal scoring five boundaries in his innings of 23. Jansen created the breakthrough by dismissing KL Rahul for 8 off 21 balls.
Duanne Olivier followed suit, picking the important wicket of Agarwal for 23 off 37. Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane stitched a partnership of 41 runs, and took India’s score to 85/2 at the end of Day 2.
