Image Credit- Reuters
India levelled the two-match series 1-1 on the second
day of the second Test in Cape Town thanks to a seven-wicket victory led by
Jasprit Bumrah’s 6 for 61.
Just one hour after lunch, India managed to chase down
the necessary 79 runs after South Africa was knocked out for 176 in their
second innings. This Test produced the shortest result ever, lasting only 107
overs. Additionally, it was India’s first victory in seven Tests at Newlands.
The Player of the Match was Mohammed Siraj, who took six wickets in the first
innings to restrict South Africa to 55 runs.
Prior to everything, though, Aiden Markram amassed an
incredible hundred, hitting 106 off 103 balls. For the first time in Test
history, a batsman got 100 without any of his teammates reaching 20 in either
innings; South Africa’s next best score came from Kyle Verreynne, who hit 15 in
the opening innings. Sadly, it was a losing effort for both Markram and interim
skipper Dean Elgar, who announces his retirement following this Test.
The day didn’t get off to a fantastic start for South
Africa. They lost a wicket in the first over of play, having resumed at 62 for
3. In an attempt to start off strong, David Bedingham opted for an on-the-up
drive against Bumrah, but he was able to edge it to the wicketkeeper.
Verreynne was also short lived. He skied one towards
mid-on, where Mohammed Siraj made the catch, in an attempt to pull Bumrah.
At 111/7, with South Africa hanging on for dear life,
Markram decided he had enough. He started his own counterattack with the bat
and took every bowler head-on. After bringing up his 50 in 68 balls, he scored his
next 50 runs in a trice, taking just 31 more to bring up his 7th
test hundred, and arguably his best test knock in borderline treacherous
conditions.
He was given a lifeline at 73 when KL Rahul fluffed a
regulation chance after a rampaging Bumrah induced a rare false shot out of
Markram. He went on to make the full use of that reprieve as he smashed a
hapless Prasidh Krishna for 20 runs in an over.
To give South Africa no chance, Rohit Sharma and
Yashasvi Jaiswal knew they had to strike first. The middle of the bat did not
produce many shots, but when Nandre Burger replaced Jaiswal, they had added 44
runs in 5.4 overs. Jaiswal fell while attempting to pull a short ball, causing
his pad to brush the stumps. The bails did not come off, but he was square leg,
caught deep-backward.
Before Shreyas Iyer scored the game-winning four,
Virat Kohli was caught down the leg side and Shubman Gill fell victim to a low
bounce.