RANCHI: India pacers Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav breathed fire, forcing South Africa to meekly surrender on Day Three of the third Test at JSCA International Stadium Complex on Monday.
They shared five wickets in the first innings as India enforced the follow-on after bundling out Proteas for 162. The duo repeated the feat in South Africa’s second essay, taking the team to the verge of victory and a clean sweep.
Proteas were reeling at 132/8 at the end of play on Monday. With the opponents still trailing by 203 and only two wickets remaining, it will be only a matter of time — weather permitting — for the hosts to wrap up the series on Tuesday and extend their lead atop the World Test Championship table.
A total of 16 South African wickets fell on a single day. Eight of them failed to reach double figures in the first innings. Shami and Umesh bagged eight, while the spinners walked away with six. Kagiso Rabada and George Linde got run out in the first and second innings respectively.
As has been the case so far, the Indian pacers made early inroads. They snared four wickets in 10 overs as Faf du Plessis and Co continued to struggle in the second innings. An early tea break was called after Umesh smacked opener Dean Elgar on his helmet and felled him. The left-hander didn’t come out to bat after play resumed, and Theunis de Bruyn was named as his concussion replacement later in the day. Elgar became the third player to be replaced by a substitute after suffering a concussion, as per the new protocol.
Given the way the series has panned out, it would be apt to say that India’s pacers have outsmarted their South African counterparts led by Rabada. South Africa pacers looked good in patches, but India’s quicks have produced breakthroughs consistently, helping their team maintain a steel grip on the contests.
Spinners might have done the bulk of work for Kohli and Co by bowling more overs — given the pitches on offer — but it’s the pacers who have led the charge by giving the opponents early jolts. Shami has featured in all the three matches and bowled 73.5 overs so far. The Bengal pacer is also second in the list of most successful bowlers (13 wickets). Ashwin leads the chart with 15, while Rabada is fifth with seven. Umesh and Ishant Sharma, who have played two matches each, have picked up 11 and two.
Zubayr Hamza, who played a valiant knock of 62 early in the day, was all praise for India’s pacers. “I would say that with a new ball, they just forced us to play more. They bowled attacking lines. They didn’t allow us to leave the ball many times and asked us to play majority of the balls, given the fact that they’ve got good skills as well. Obviously, we have to be on top of our game in defence to keep those records out, and we haven’t done that.”
Explaining the impact of India’s pacers further, Hamza said, “I would say based on the general thought of playing in India, you’d assume that it would be tougher to play against the spinners. In saying that we knew, obviously, we first have to get through the quick bowlers they’ve got. They are extremely disciplined and professional about the way they go about their job. So I wouldn’t say we were under-prepared against the seamers. I will just say that maybe we should have prepared more mentally in terms of playing them in whatever conditions that we faced.”
Saha hurts finger
India wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha suffered an injury on his right ring finger during the South African second innings as Rishabh Pant kept wickets in the final hour on day three of the final Test match. He was hurt in the 27th over, while keeping to off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. He will be assessed on Tuesday.
Elgar hit on head
South Africa opener Dean Elgar was ruled out of the Test as he suffered concussion after being hit by a bouncer from Umesh Yadav. Minutes before the tea break, Elgar tried to duck a short delivery from Yadav and was hit just above the ear and immediately fell on the ground. The match referee then approved Theunis de Bruyn as replacement.
scoreboard
India 1st innings: 497-9 dec
South Africa 1st innings (overnight 9/2): Hamza b Jadeja 62, Du Plessis b Umesh 1, Bavuma st Saha b Nadeem 32, Klaasen b Jadeja 6, Linde c Rohit b Umesh 37, Piedt lbw Shami 4, Rabada (run out) 0, Nortje lbw Nadeem 4, Ngidi (not out) 0. Extras (b8, lb3, nb1) 12, Total (all out, 56.2 ovs) 162. FoW: 1-4, 2-8, 3-16, 4-107, 5-107, 6-119, 7-129, 8-130, 9-162. Bowling: Shami 10-4-22-2, Umesh 9-1-40-3, Nadeem 11.2-4-22-2, Jadeja 14-3-19-2, Ashwin 12-1-48-0.
South Africa 2nd innings (F/O): De Kock b Umesh 5, Elgar (retired hurt) 16, Hamza b Shami 0, Du Plessis lbw Shami 4, Bavuma c Saha b Shami 0, Klaasen lbw b Umesh 5, Linde (run out) 27, Piedt b Jadeja 23, De Bruyn (not out) 30, Rabada c Jadeja b Ashwin 12, Nortje (not out) 5. Extras (b5) 5, Total (8 wkts, 46 ovs) 132. FoW: 1-5, 2-10, 3-18, 4-22, 4-26 (Elgar, retired hurt), 5-36, 6-67, 7-98, 8-121. Bowling: Shami 9-5-10-3, Umesh 9-1-35-2, Jadeja 13-5-36-1, Nadeem 5-0-18-0, Ashwin 10-3-28-1.