Team India is on the verge of registering its first win against South Africa in Centurion. On the fourth day of the opening Test, India chased down a target of 305 to put South Africa on the back foot with four wickets. South Africa scored 94/4 at stumps and need 211 runs to win, but a lot of that will depend on the weather as forecast suggests rain is expected to play a poor game at Centurion. Although Day 4 was not the best day for India in this match, in the final thirty minutes, Jasprit Bumrah took two crucial wickets of Rassi van der Dussen and Keshav Maharaj to give them an advantage. The Indian batsmen did not live up to the expectations and were dismissed for only 174 runs as Proteas pacers Kagiso Rabada and Marco Janssen took four wickets each. Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant top-scored for India in the second innings with 34 as none of the visiting batsman could score a half-century.
Here are the talking points of the fourth day of the Boxing Day Test between India and South Africa:
Virat Kohli’s weaknesses outside off-stump
Team India’s Test captain came out to bat on the fourth day with positive intent as he stabilized the Indian innings with Cheteshwar Pujara before lunch after the departure of KL Rahul. However, after the lunch break on the fourth day, he was dismissed by debutant Marco Jensen on the first ball. Kohli once again tries to cover a drive on the ball outside off stump and Quinton de Kock takes an edge. comfortable grip. He scored just 18 runs to end the second consecutive year without an international century.
Kohli was dismissed in a similar style in the first innings as well, when he looked well set up and a sudden lack of concentration forced him to play a delivery that was wide outside the off-stump and threw it at slips. Gave. After being dismissed, Kohli faced a lot of scrutiny for his shot-selection as he was set up by several bowlers outside the off-stump. The 33-year-old completed two consecutive years without scoring an international century. He needs to work on his shot selection and maybe learn something from Sachin Tendulkar’s book. The Master Blaster played one of his most iconic innings of 241* against Australia in 2004, where he controlled himself and did not play a single cover drive which became a cause for concern for him before the match.
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Poor Show From Pujara-Rahane
Test specialists Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane’s troubles have increased after another flop performance from both of them. Pujara, who was dismissed for a duck in the first innings, failed to convert a good start into a big total in the second innings and once again fell victim to Lungi Ngidi for 16 runs. innings, but when Kohli reached the middle he propelled Pujara from the other end. Soon after Kohli left, Pujara was joined by his captain in the dressing room.
Ajinkya Rahane’s dismissal was the biggest disappointment from India’s innings as he looked confident and played his shots freely. He hit a six and a four to Jensen. The first hook shot was from a bouncer over his left shoulder and the second one was a little lower on his right shoulder. He could not check his pull-shot and was dismissed at deep square leg.
With both of them flop shows, the team management has a reason to sell them and give Shreyas Iyer and Hanuma Vihari a chance to showcase their talent.
Dean Elgar’s amazing knock
To keep South Africa’s hopes alive, the South African captain played an unbeaten 52 while chasing a tough target of 305 runs. There is clearly a gap between the victories in southeast India and Centurion. Elgar escaped some fine spells from Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj and solidified his ground at the stumps. He faced body blows from Indian fast bowlers and looked down to play a captain’s knock. The 34-year-old put on a scintillating 40-run partnership from 135 balls to stabilize the Proteas innings for the loss of two early wickets. Tomorrow he has a big job to win or save the match for South Africa.
Debutant Marco Janssen Shine
After a stellar first innings performance, the 21-year-old pacer displayed his talent and skill on the fourth day. Jensen picked up four crucial wickets to restrict India to 174 in the second innings. Young Jensen, who impressed the India captain as a net bowler during his last tour of 2018, will certainly remember his debut as he inspired the captain to drive. He got the dream wicket just after lunch which made his debut memorable. The slender pacer impressed many with his disciplined bowling and variations. If managed well, Jensen is going to add a lot of value to the Proteas pace attack in the future.
boom-boom theft thunder
The Indian pacer missed most of the time in South Africa’s first innings after spraining his ankle but made sure he made a big impact in the second innings. The premier pacer made a splash in the final few minutes of the match with the crucial wickets of Rassi van der Dussen and Keshav Maharaj. Kohli broke the gritty stand between Elgar and Van der Dussen by bringing Bumrah back into the attack in the final 30 minutes of the day and the 28-year-old delivered with a straight Jaffa, which broke the latter’s defence. Whereas, at the end of the day, Bumrah did what he does best, bowled a toe-crushing yorker and this time nightwatchman Keshav Maharaj fell victim to the same. The Proteas player had no clue how to deal with it and the ball destroyed the stumps in a flash to put India on top.
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