Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar was surprised by the occurrence of 23 wickets falling on the first day of the second Test between India and South Africa at Newlands in Cape Town on January 3. He characterized the bowling dominance on Day 1 as “unreal.”
Opting to bat first in the Cape Town Test, South Africa’s decision misfired, leading to them getting dismissed for 55 in 23.2 overs, their lowest Test score since 1932. India, in reply, was bowled out for 153 in 34.5 overs. At stumps, South Africa was at 62/3 in their second innings after 17 overs.
In response to the surprising batting collapses on Day 1 of the Cape Town Test, Tendulkar posted a clever message on his official X handle, stating:
“Cricket in ‘24 begins with 23 wickets falling in a single day. Unreal! Boarded a flight when South Africa was all out, and now that I’m home, the TV shows South Africa has lost 3 wickets. What did I miss?”
Fast bowler Mohammed Siraj stood out as India’s key performer, achieving his career-best Test figures of 6/15 in nine overs. Meanwhile, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, and Nandre Burger each secured three wickets for South Africa in India’s first innings.
“I realized what I missed in the last game” – Siraj reflects on his exceptional Day 1 performance in Cape Town
Siraj faced a challenging Test match in Centurion, where India suffered an innings defeat by 32 runs. He recorded figures of 2/91 as South Africa scored 408 in their first innings. Acknowledging that he wasn’t in top form during the initial Test, the pacer expressed a desire to make up for it in the subsequent matches.
“I realized what I missed in the last game and wanted to compensate and I executed my plans accordingly. I wanted to hit one area consistently and I did that and got reward for it. Wicket looks quite similar to Centurion,” Siraj said.
When questioned about his approach on Day 1 at Newlands, the 29-year-old provided details:
“We (him and Jasprit Bumrah) bowled in partnerships and bowled many maidens unlike last Test match. Bowling so many maidens did create pressure. [On such wickets], if you hit [the right] areas, wickets will come automatically, if you try many things, you yourself can get confused.”
Siraj took six wickets in South Africa’s first innings, with Bumrah and Mukesh Kumar contributing two wickets each.
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