CAPE TOWN: Sunday in Cape Town promised to be a day of reckoning. A Test — never mind the lead South Africa already had — still had enough time for turnarounds — both large and many — in the two days of cricket the port city witnessed.
The match, especially the performance of the hosts’ pace quartet, constituted dinner-table conversations at most of the pubs and restaurants on Saturday night. Many even engaged in banter with Indian fans and the travelling media contingent. A series was living up to its top-billing tag.
Many just couldn’t wait to see the sun rise again. They were looking forward to Sunday for far-better things. As most of the crowd left Newlands on Friday, they did so with a smile. The Table Mountain was slowly disappearing, and dark clouds hovered around the stadium. That was the sight they had been waiting for.
Rain predictions for Sunday notwithstanding, there were more reasons for happiness. They watched their home team dominate India, who according to the locals “did an unfair job in 2015 by rolling out turners at home”.
One fan thundered: “Your players don’t have the b***s to face fast bowling. They are getting exposed now.” Even in times of despair — and drought — old scars still remained afresh.
As Cape Town woke up on Sunday, the Test took the backseat. Most places witnessed rain, although far from what they would have hoped for. Newlands wasn’t lucky. It mostly drizzled, but that was enough for people to leave out buckets and utensils to collect raindrops.
Inside the stadium, despite chances of play being remote, plenty turned out. The grass banks near the Railway Stand — where the official beer party takes place — was buzzing. Even corporate boxes and the Members’ End saw many wait for play to begin.
Though the water table has gone low, clearing out puddles was always going to be tough for the ground staff, since the sun didn’t even show up once.
An unexpected shower has added yet another twist to this Test. With two days to go and the pitch under covers, moisture is surely going to resurface. That could make things complicated for the hosts. With a slight drizzle predicted for Monday, India are looking at taking advantage of conditions that have worked in their favour. Even a couple of early wickets could change the balance. With Dale Steyn not fit, South Africa will be wary of the fact that a big total is now a necessity.
For India, the plan on Monday will be to restrict the lead and hope for their top-order to not do a first-innings encore. For a team that looked buried on Saturday afternoon, an unlikely performance from Hardik Pandya and the following 24 hours have given them hope.