South Africa V. India Third Test: India’s Batting Disappoints Once Again
Match Highlights:
- India were dismissed for 187
- SA are on 6-1
- SA lead the series 2-0
Taking the field at Johannesburg in the final test match of the three match series, India knew they would have to up their game by miles from their previous performances in the series if they had any chance of preventing a whitewash. Unfortunately it was not to be so on a cloudy Day 1 as India’s famous batting line-up faltered once again. Despite bringing in the reliable Ajinkya Rahane to steady the ship, India found themselves getting all out for a mere 187 runs in just 74 overs to hand the South Africans the upper hand.
Winning the toss and electing to bat first, India got off to the worst of starts after opener KL Rahul was dismissed for a duck. His partner Murali Vijay was quick to follow in his footsteps as his poor run with the bat continued this series after he departed for just 8 to Rabada. Reeling at 13-2 captain Virat Kohli and Pujara undertook the task of steadying the Indian ship as they grinded out an excellent display of pace bowling by the South African bowlers who exploited the pitch and weather conditions perfectly. Unable to play the zipping swinging ball, Pujara took 54 balls before he could get off the mark. Both the batsmen were lucky to survive early into their innings after Kohli was dropped and Pujara was wrongly given not out of an lbw. Making the most of their second chance, both the batsmen strung together a partnership of 86 runs with Kohli scoring the bulk of the runs while Pujara played the role of an anchor at the other end, seeing away over after over with his defensive play. Both reached half centuries and were the only shining lights of an otherwise dismal Indian performance which saw only Bhuvaneshwar Kumar register double digits after them. Rabada shone with the ball as he went onto pick up three wickets to bundle the Indian innings for 187. South Africa ended their day 6-1, trailing India by 181 runs.
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