India suffer mother of all batting collapses, spill golden opportunity against South Africa

By DAYANAND MOHITE | published: January 03, 2024 08:48 PM 2019-02-12T14:15:30+5:30

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As many as 20 wickets fell inside just 58.1 overs as bowlers dominated the proceedings on Day 1 of the 2nd Test between India and South Africa at the Newlands in Cape Town on Wednesday.

Wickets tumbled for fun as India suffered mother-of-all batting collapses during their first innings on Day 1 of the ongoing second Test against South Africa at the Newlands in Cape Town. The visitors missed out on a golden opportunity to exert pressure on the hosts by amassing a significant lead in their first innings as they ended up losing as many as six wickets without scoring a run to get bundled out for 153 runs, in response to South Africa’s total of 55 runs in their first innings.

India dominated the proceedings in the opening session on Day 1 with pacer Mohammed Siraj breathing fire with the ball. Siraj ran through the Proteas batting line-up with a six-wicket haul to help the visitors bundle them out for a paltry 55 runs, the lowest total by any team against India in Test history. The second session too belonged to India after skipper Rohit Sharma got them off to a strong start in their first innings before they crumbled in the 3rd session..

Kagiso Rabada struck early in Inda’s first innings to clean up Rohit’s opening partner Yashasvi Jaiswal on a duck but the skipper looked in great control en route to his 39 off 50 balls. Rohit played some fabulous trokes en route to his 39-run knock but failed to convert his start into a big score as he missed out on a well-deserved fifty.

The Hitman added 55 runs for the second wicket with Shubman Gill, who also notched up a gritty 36 to give India the momentum after the early stutter. It was left-arm pacer Nandre Burger, who accounted for the dismissals of both Rohit and Gill as he produced a fiery spell after some early exchanges with Virat Kohli.

Kohli, who was fired up, shared a crucial 33-run stand with Gill for the third wicket which was ended by Burger in the 21st over. The left-arm seamer then got rid of Shreyas Iyer on a duck to leave India reeling at 110/4 before Kohli and KL Rahul helped India recover. The duo shared a 43-run stand for the 5th wicket, but Rahul looked far from convincing as he struggled throughout the partnership.

His struggles were brought to an end by Lungi Ngidi, who sent him packing in the 34th over to trigger a never-seen-before collapse for India. It was a game-changing over from Ngidi that found the Indian batters dumb-founded and saw the visitors completely lose the plot after the pacer picked up three wickets in a matter of just six deliveries.

Mother of all collapses – 0 runs, 6 wickets, 11 balls

It was the mother of all collapses as India went on to lose six wickets inside just 11 deliveries, without scoring a run to get bundled out for 153. Inda’s score read 153/5 when Rahul was dismissed by Ngidi on the first ball of the 34th over. What unfolded after that was nearly unbelievable as Indian batters meekly surrendered on a surface that was getting better for batting with each passing session.

After Rahul’s departure, India lost as many as five batters on ducks as none of them managed to contribute anything to the team’s score. Ravindra Jadeja was the first one to go after he was bounced out by Ngidi and edged one to Marco Jansen at slips to walk back on a duck. Ngidi deployed a similar ploy to dismiss Bumrah on the final delivery of the over to finish with three wickets inside just six balls.

Kagiso Rabada then got rid of a well-set Kohli on 46 off 59 balls, inducing an edge of the right-hander’s bat with Aiden Markram plucking a catch at slips. It was a mere formality after Kohli’s dismissal as Rabada dismissed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna on consecutive deliveries in the same over to bundle India out on 153 itself, with the last five batters adding 0 runs to the scoreboard.

Golden opportunity missed for India

Thanks to their shambolic batting collapse, India missed out on a golden opportunity to amass a big lead in their first innings and finish Day 1 in a commanding position to put South Africa under pressure. India had the perfect opportunity to gain a significant lead after Rohit and Gill provided them with a solid start. However, the middle order failed to contribute and the tail looked vulnerable in the absence of Shardul Thakur as the South African pacers ran riot.

Ngidi and Rabada combined to pick up six wickets between them in the final two overs of India’s innings to ensure the visitors could amass a lead of 98 runs. A big lead would have kept India ahead in the game and given them a healthy chance of pulling off their maiden Test victory against the hosts at the Newlands, Cape Town. India have never won a Test match at the venue, having lost 4 and drawn 2 in a total of six attempts.

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