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India [601/5] beat South Africa [275 & 189] by an innings and 137 runs in the 2nd Test, lead 2-0

Enoch Nkwe, South Africa’s interim team director, on Friday praised Virat Kohli after the Indian skipper scored a double ton as the hosts scored 601/5 declared in the first innings of the second Test at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.

Kohli scored an unbeaten 254 to score his seventh double hundred in Tests, surpassing Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar to create a record for most double hundreds by an Indian batsmen in the longest format of the game.

Nkwe termed Kohli, who registered his highest individual score in Test cricket, a “world class player”.

“I mean he is a world-class player. Credit to India today, in terms of how they went about their business. It was a very crucial partnership between (Ajinkya) Rahane and Kohli. Obviously, he led by example and it was a great knock from him. It was superb to watch,” Nkwe said in the post-match press conference.

Kohli, who scored multiple records during his 336-ball stay in the middle and completed 7000 runs in Test cricket, put up two big partnerships – a 178-run stand with Rahane and a 225-run stand with Ravindra Jadeja – as India put up a big total on the board.

Nkwe said that South Africa have an inexperienced bowling attack and they can take good learning from their performance against the Indian batsmen.

“When you are bowling to the world-class line-up, that’s what happens and we take good learnings from that. Very important learning that we need to take forward into the second innings,” he said.

“Yes, it is a bit of inexperienced bowling attack we have, we knew that. One thing I will never question is the character of our team and the boys gave their all,” added Nkwe.

However, Nkwe highlighted that nothing has changed when it comes to the Proteas’ intent.

“Nothing really changes in terms of the intent. We just got to keep having a positive mind to score runs. We proved this in the first innings of the first Test. We are not going to back down. It is going to be important that we build a very strong partnership. Obviously, the two batters will have to set them up and it is important that they become a lot more ruthless,” concluded Nkwe.

https://www.cricketcountry.com/news...och-nkwe-hails-world-class-virat-kohli-898815
 
This is painful to watch. India in India are absolute juggernauts but this is not the South Africa I know.
 
I like Rabada. But in slightly helpful conditions for fast bowlers Steyn is an absolute beast and better than him. May be because he is skiddier.
 
IND 601/5 decl
RSA 71/5 (26.3) CRR: 2.68
Day 3: 1st Session - South Africa trail by 530 runs

Could end today at this rate!
 
Another failure today should really be the end of de Bruyn's disastrous test career. He has to be the most mystifying selection in SA's post-readmission history.
 
IND 601/5 decl
RSA 136/6 (41.3) CRR: 3.28
Day 3: 1st Session - South Africa trail by 465 runs

Capture.JPG

Faf trying to salvage some dignity here
 
Tough chance dropped by Kohli of Muthusamy at mid wicket. Lunch would have tasted that much better had Kohli caught that.
 
IND 601/5 decl
RSA 223/8 (84.4) CRR: 2.63
Day 3: 3rd Session - South Africa trail by 378 runs

some signs of life in the SA Camp...
 
Our usual problem of not getting rid of the tail.
 
KESHAV MAHARAJ and Vernon Philander brought some much-needed determination and no little courage to the Standard Bank Proteas attempt to keep the Freedom Series alive as they defied the Indian attack for more than 40 overs in a record ninth-wicket stand of 109 for at Pune on Saturday.

The day nevertheless finished with India very much in control of the second Test match with a first innings lead of 326 and two full days left to play to take a winning 2-0 lead in the series. It remains to be seen whether the home side will enforce the follow on.

Maharaj scored his maiden Test match half-century (72 off 132 balls, 12 fours) and also made the top score in the innings to emulate the performance of Pat Symcox against Pakistan in 1998 of a No. 10 batsman making the top score.

Philander finished unbeaten on 44 (192 balls, 6 fours) which was, as for Maharaj, his longest innings in Test cricket.

Their partnership was a new South African ninth wicket record against India, improving on the 91 that Senuran Muthusamy and Dane Piedt had managed in the previous Test match. These two partnership records will give the South African top order much food for thought.

Maharaj was handicapped by a painful right shoulder injury that caused him particular distress when he played any attacking shot that required significant use of his bottom hand.

Philander also took a couple of blows to his right hand.

What the pair have done is to take a significant amount of time out of the game and will have provided the inspiration to attempt to save the game even though a win is out of the equation.

The only other partnership of note was the 75 for the sixth wicket between Faf du Plessis, who made his second half-century of the series (64 off 117 balls, 9 fours and a six) and Quinton de Kock.
 
Ashwin was brilliant today, seems to have recovered his 2015-16 form. The way he set up Kock and Faf before dismissing them, poetry in motion.

Jadeja's recent form is a concern, even if he may take a few wickets he doesn't look as threatening. Is his excessive focus on batting a reason? Maybe the pressure put by team management to make him #6. I would love Jaddu the AR but not at the cost of dip in bowling form. Hope this is temporary and he shines in the next 3 innings.

Shami, Umesh brilliant, I was initially skeptical about Umesh's selection but as usual thriving on Indian pitches.

Ishant is not at his best this match, bowled much better in Vizag. I want to see Kuldeep join the pack in Ranchi.
 
Saha was exceptional behind the stumps as always. Some of the grabs he made them look so easy, I reckon he is the most skilled glovesman in world cricket today. Pant may score average 15-20 runs more per innings but keeping to this bowling attack on our pitches is a huge challenge. Not a single bye conceded as well. Some of our PPers have been following cricket for a long time, would be interesting to have their take on Saha the wicket-keeper. From my memory recollection he has dropped around 10 catches in his career (33 tests), taken many blinders, conceded very few byes. Not as good as Dhoni when it comes to stumpings, but still elite level.

[MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] [MENTION=7774]Robert[/MENTION] in case you have followed his keeping closely, where would you rank him skill-wise? Compared to former greats whom you have seen live. Where do you stand in the Pant vs Saha selection debate? Specifically tagging you guys because you have been following test cricket for a long time, others are welcome to chip in.
 
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India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin feels that even lower order batsman are capable enough to produce the goods in modern cricket, after Keshav Maharaj and Vernon Philander helped South Africa to reduce the first innings deficit, adding 109 runs for the ninth wicket on day two of the second Test in Pune.

Maharaj and Philander kept the visitors at bay for 43.1 overs, before South Africa were eventually all out for 275 in their first innings. Ashwin, who took the final two wickets and finished with returns of 4/69, stated that most present-day bowlers have been developing their skills with the bat and heaped praises on Vernon Philander, who batted for almost four hours and stayed unbeaten on 44.

I think the myth of tailenders is just overstated. When a batsman bats well, he bats well.
Ravichandran Ashwin

"I think the myth of tailenders is just overstated," said the off-spinner. "When a batsman bats well, he bats well. Nowadays, nobody is really a mug with the bat, they all have the skills. Even in our team, everybody bats pretty well till No.11. Philander batted beautifully. I thought his defense technique against both spin and fast bowling is wonderful. He played with soft hands and the bat face was nicely running down."

Ashwin acknowledged the struggles of bowling against a deep batting line-up, but was satisfied with the 326-run lead in the first innings. "One of the biggest problem with this South African team is that they bat till No.11. So you've to keep bowling like you would against the top order and that includes Rabada (last man) as well. It was hard work, but then you expect to bowl out teams in 100 overs."

As for the visitors, their top order failed for the third consecutive time in the series. In Visakhapatnam, they lost their first three wickets at 34 and 23 in the first and second innings respectively, and in Pune, found themselves struggling at 53/5, stumbling further to 162/8. Ashwin though, believes that the du Plessis-led unit will come back strongly in the remainder of the series.

"In all honesty, I think South Africa have batted well and have played some good cricket over the last two Tests," Ashwin remarked. "Sometimes when you stand on the field for two days, more than 150-160 overs, it can be difficult. Elgar batted beautifully in the last test, Faf has been batting pretty well. They have some quality batsmen like Temba Bavuma who haven't come to the party as yet. I'm sure they're waiting to get some runs because these are really good pitches to bat on."

The top-ranked spinner in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Rankings was also impressed with the fast bowling duo of Umesh Yadav and Mohammad Shami, who shared five wickets between them.

"Last evening I thought the way Shami and Umesh ran in, it was extremely special. The way Shami got the ball carrying to the keeper was a pleasant sight to see ― something that doesn't happen quite often in India. But this seam attack of ours has completely earned the right of doing such things and we aren't surprised about it anymore."

https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/1451532
 
I want a rank turner in final test...

Both the test have been pretty boring and as expected we bulldozed the hapless Saffers pretty easily....

Need to have a spicy test next and get kuldeep instead of Ishant...
 
I want a rank turner in final test...

Both the test have been pretty boring and as expected we bulldozed the hapless Saffers pretty easily....

Need to have a spicy test next and get kuldeep instead of Ishant...

True.
Its clear that SA are no match to this Indian side on these kind of wickets.
Better to make a rank turner and add some spice to this boring series.
 
India are far too strong for South Africa.

The game may have been closer if SA batted first. But even that is not a certainty
 
India are far too strong for South Africa.

The game may have been closer if SA batted first. But even that is not a certainty

bat first bowl first doesn't matter. india will trounce them. india lost many tosses vs england and australia and they still whooped them.

Make no mistake, this south african team is still very talented. Loads of potential.
 
Faf is SA best batsman- he should bat at 3 or 4.

Maybe SA should try De Kock as a specialist batsman and bring a diffrent keeper in.
 
This test match and the series have been so boring that im not even bothered watching highlights.
 
Once the ball gets older it is hard to take wickets. India's struggle against tailenders continue. Sam Curran, Pat Cummins, Philander, Maharaja couple of WI lower order batsmen.
 
Taken the follow-on, SA lose Markram in the second ball, should have taken review though.
 
Terrible decision to enforce follow on. Should have batted 2 sessions and then put SA in.

much of muchness!

IND 601/5 decl
RSA 275, 13/1 (3.5) CRR: 3.39
Day 4: 1st Session - South Africa trail by 313 runs

No chance of SA surviving for too long.
 
No.india will once again struggle to nip out the tail even if they get the top order.

when ball gets old it's always hard to get tsul enders out. That's why u need shami to clean them up or bumrah. just raw pace will do the trick. kohli usually gives the bowlers too much rest. That's why the tail keeps wagging a bit.
 
when ball gets old it's always hard to get tsul enders out. That's why u need shami to clean them up or bumrah. just raw pace will do the trick. kohli usually gives the bowlers too much rest. That's why the tail keeps wagging a bit.

Bumrah played in Australia test series and did extremely well. Even then India struggled with the tail in almost every innings in that series.
 
IND 601/5 decl
RSA 275, 59/2 (16.0) CRR: 3.69
Day 4: 1st Session - South Africa trail by 267 runs
 
Dire straits....

IND 601/5 decl
RSA 275, 106/5 (38.5) CRR: 2.73
Day 4: 2nd Session - South Africa trail by 220 runs
 
Bumrah played in Australia test series and did extremely well. Even then India struggled with the tail in almost every innings in that series.

bumrah dint bowl much to tail. neither did shami. when they did they cleaned them up within minutes. fast bowlers need longer breaks unfortunately.
 
IND 601/5 decl
RSA 275, 168/7 (59.0) CRR: 2.85
Day 4: 2nd Session - South Africa trail by 158 runs
 
30th win for Kohli as captain. Entering a different league now and looks more relaxed on the field.

All SA bowlers except Rabadaat times were bang average.
 
bhuvi
saini
umesh
siraj

are all quality bowlers on the bench for india. umesh is quality at home. Away he is a bit erratic. The other 3 have quality to do well too. Just not tested yet.

bumrah yet to play in india and just imagine what that glorious man is capable of doing in india with his bowling prowess. Just rest that godlike bumrah for home series games and play him strictly for away fixtures. He is after all the crown Prince of india.
 
INDIA, having decided to enforce the follow on, duly wrapped up the second Freedom Series Test match by an innings and 137 runs and in the process took a winning 2-0 lead in the three-match series at Pune on Sunday.

It was also India’s biggest winning margin over the Standard Bank Proteas.

It was another disappointing batting day for the Proteas as the 10 wickets were evenly divided with five going to the seamers and five to the spinners.

There were modest partnerships of 49 for the third wicket between Dean Elgar and Faf du Plessis, who promoted himself to No 4, and 46 for the sixth wicket between Temba Bavuma and Senuran Muthusamy before Vernon Philander and Keshav Maharaj again posted the highest partnership of the innings of 56.

Virat Kohli was named Man of the Match for his double century.

The World Test Championship will give the remaining match starting on Saturday at Ranchi context in spite of the fact that the series has been decided with 40 points still up for grabs.
 
India swept to victory by an innings and 137 runs against South Africa at Pune, taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series and maintaining their 100 per cent World Test Championship record.

Having brought the Proteas’ first innings to a close in the final moments of the third day, India began the fourth by choosing to enforce the follow on, and got instant reward as Ishant Sharma pinned Aiden Markram lbw for 0, the opener recording a pair. Theunis de Bruyn followed not long after for 8, nicked off by Umesh Yadav, and once again South Africa were up against it.

Captain Faf du Plessis, promoting himself to No.4 this time around, stuck in for a gritty 5 off 54 balls, but when he, opener Dean Elgar, and Quinton de Kock all fell in the space of five overs, a quick finish looked on the cards. Ravichandran Ashwin removed the first two, while de Kock was bowled by Ravindra Jadeja.

Temba Bavuma and Senuran Muthusamy helped steady the ship, blocking out the next 15 overs after de Kock’s dismissal, but both fell in the space of 10 balls, the former edging to first slip for Ajinkya Rahane to take a fine catch, and the latter fending a rising ball from Mohammed Shami to second slip.

Once again, Vernon Philander and Keshav Maharaj frustrated the hosts, joining forces for more than 20 overs to raise the tourists’ hopes of taking the contest to a fifth day, but the end came all of a sudden, Umesh dismissing Philander and Rabada in the same over, and Maharaj trapped in front by Jadeja two balls into the next over, victory secured with utmost ease.

Having convincingly outplayed South Africa in both the pace and spin departments, India will go into the third Test at Ranchi, which begins on 19 October, with sights firmly set on securing a 3-0 whitewash.

https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/1451752
 
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LINDE TO REPLACE MAHARAJ FOR FINAL TEST MATCH

Sunday, 13 October 2019

Left arm spinner George Linde of the World Sports Betting Cape Cobras will replace Keshav Maharaj ahead of the Standard Bank Proteas third Test match against India in Ranchi, starting on Saturday.

Maharaj sustained an injury to his right shoulder while fielding during day two of the second Test match in Pune.

A re-assessment ahead of the start of play this morning along with MRI results revealed that he will not be fit in time to play in the final Test match.

Team Doctor Ramjee Hashendra commented:

“An MRI scan revealed that Keshav has sustained an injury to a muscle in his right shoulder which was strapped in order for him to bat yesterday. He was re-assess this morning, particularly with regards to bowling, and he showed significant discomfort in this latter discipline.

“Based on this morning’s assessment and the finding of the scan, the medical team feel he will not be fit in time for the next Test match in six days’ time. The nature and extent of the injury would mean that he will probably return to play in 14 to 21 days based on his progress during the rehabilitation phase.”
 
South Africa are playing like complete minnows. This series has been a massive farce.

Congratulations to India. They were clinical.
 
South Africa are playing like complete minnows. This series has been a massive farce.

SA are not minnows. India would make all other countries (except Australia) playing in India look like minnows. The would beat England and NZ 5-0 in a 5 game series (unless rain intervened) and Pakistan 10-0 in a 5 game series (even if rain intervened) :))
 
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India are way to good for RSA at home. Thankfully Pak won't be playing them anytime soon.
 
SA are not minnows. India would make all other countries (except Australia) playing in India look like minnows. The would beat England and NZ 5-0 in a 5 game series (unless rain intervened) and Pakistan 10-0 in a 5 game series (even if rain intervened) :))
India also would spank australia 4 0. last time it should have been 3 1 to india. not 2-1 Rain saved Aussies. would get spanked next time they tour yet again.
 
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India also would spank australia 4 0. last time it should have been 3 1 to india. not 2-1 Rain saved Aussies. would get spanked next time they tour yet again.

Totally agree. But Australia would still be the only country which would not end up looking like minnows if they played in India.

South "freaking" Africa which recently beat Australia 3-1 and Pakistan 3-0 lost the last Test to India by an innings and 137 runs. And India only lost 5 wickets in the entire Test. It's like half an Indian innings was more than 2 SA innings.
 
Totally agree. But Australia would still be the only country which would not end up looking like minnows if they played in India.

South "freaking" Africa which recently beat Australia 3-1 and Pakistan 3-0 lost the last Test to India by an innings and 137 runs. And India only lost 5 wickets in the entire Test. It's like half an Indian innings was more than 2 SA innings.

Didn’t South freaking Africa lose to Sri Lanka at home too? Sri Lanka of all teams
 
CRICKET SOUTH AFRICA (CSA) has called on fans to show patience with captain Faf du Plessis, interim team director Enoch Nkwe and the Standard Bank Proteas as they regroup and build a new era following the retirement of many of its senior core of players.

“It was always going to be a difficult challenge taking on the top team in the world – certainly under their own conditions – in India at a time when we have introduced a new team structure,” commented CSA Chief Executive Thabang Moroe.

“In the past two years we have had to bid farewell to some of the great names of international cricket such as AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn who between them played nearly 450 Test matches for the Proteas. You don’t replace that kind of experience overnight and we need to give a new generation time to settle.

“These things take time and I am confident that we will already see improvement in our next Test series when England are our visitors during the festive season. I am sure that our supporters will rally behind them on home turf. These are, in fact, exciting times for South African cricket with new names and faces coming to the fore. Our talent pipeline has produced the likes of Aiden Markram, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Zubayr Hamza over the last few years and our development systems are clearly in good shape.

“There is a huge incentive on our young players to put pressure on the incumbents. There is nothing like good competition for places that brings out the best in all,” concluded Mr. Moroe.

With the Indian team having written themselves into the history books, with their 11th consecutive Test cricket series win at home, CSA Acting Director of Cricket, Corrie Van Zyl, has urged for patience with the new look Proteas outfit that has a lot of new faces. “We need to appreciate the quality that is in this Indian side,” says Van Zyl.

“This is an Indian team that has been together for some time now and is well accustomed to playing in their home conditions. I strongly believe we, as the Proteas, have the players to win games and the youngsters will come right. The team are constantly trying to find ways to win. It's not like they're not doing a great job with it. We believe in them that they're going to make the right decisions to do the best they can do to help us win Test matches.
 
Heck Sri Lanka whitewashed them...

Sri Lanka won 2-1 in South Africa. Perera freakish innings aside, South Africa is still very capable of beating all teams at home. They just don’t travel well anymore.
 
Sri Lanka won 2-1 in South Africa. Perera freakish innings aside, South Africa is still very capable of beating all teams at home. They just don’t travel well anymore.

It was a whitewash
 
Sri Lanka won 2-1 in South Africa. Perera freakish innings aside, South Africa is still very capable of beating all teams at home. They just don’t travel well anymore.

It was a whitewasht against SL at home. South Africa would've lost to India as well if it wasn't for ABD. Now that ABD is gone, they're toast both home and away.
 
JOHANNESBURG: South African cricket officials on Monday urged the country’s supporters to be patient with their struggling Test side after two heavy defeats in India.

The Proteas, rebuilding after the retirement of several senior players, were outplayed in every aspect of both Tests so far.

India clinched the three-match series when they won the second Test in Pune by an innings and 137 runs on Sunday. It followed an equally punishing 203-run win in the first Test in Visakhapatnam.

“It was always going to be a difficult challenge taking on the top team in the world — certainly under their own conditions — at a time when we have introduced a new team structure,” said Cricket South Africa (CSA) chief executive Thabang Moroe.

CSA fired previous coach Ottis Gibson and the selection panel following a poor World Cup campaign earlier this year and introduced a new structure, to be headed by a team director who would be responsible for all team matters who would report to a director of cricket.

Enoch Nkwe, a former player with a modest first-class career and a single, successful season as a franchise coach, was appointed to the team director role in an interim capacity, while former international player Corrie van Zyl was appointed acting director of cricket and interim convener of selectors.

Moroe also pointed to the number of top players who played a big role in making South Africa one of the top sides in the world.

“In the past two years we have had to bid farewell to some of the great names of international cricket such as AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn who between them played nearly 450 Test matches for the Proteas,” said Moroe. “You don’t replace that kind of experience overnight and we need to give a new generation time to settle.”

Moroe said he was confident that a young South African team would reward their supporters with impro*ved performances during a home series against England in December and January.

“These are exciting times for South African cricket with new names and faces coming to the fore.

“Our talent pipeline has produced the likes of Aiden Markram, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Zubayr Hamza over the last few years and our development systems are clearly in good shape,” he said.

Van Zyl said supporters needed to appreciate the quality of an Indian team which has won 11 consecutive home series.

“This is an Indian team that has been together for some time now and is well accustomed to playing in their home conditions,” said Van Zyl. “I strongly believe we have the players to win games and the youngsters will come right.”

Former Test batsman and current Cape Cobras franchise coach Ashwell Prince responded to widespread criticism of the team on Twitter by pointing out the difficulties of coping with conditions away from home.

“I know we didn’t play well and it seems all doom and gloom,” Prince said on Twitter. “However, I do feel that people don’t really appreciate how tough it is to win away series especially in conditions that’s foreign to your own.

“India for example, despite touring SA with batting line-ups that included the likes of [Virender] Sehwag, [Rahul] Dravid, [Sachin] Tendulkar, [VVS] Laxman, [Sourav] Ganguly, [MS] Dhoni, have never won a series in SA.”

But Prince added cryptically that there were ‘serious issues’ in South African cricket that needed to be resolved. “Get the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats on the bus,” tweeted Prince.

Link: https://www.dawn.com/news/1510952/csa-urges-supporters-to-be-patient-with-national-team.
 
South Africa fast bowler Kagiso Rabada rued his side's inability to tackle the pressure subjected on them by India in the first two Tests in Visakhapatnam and Pune.

"We've been put under immense pressure," Rabada said ahead of the final Test, which begins on Saturday, 19 October, in Ranchi. "I don't know if we can be put under more pressure than that."

In both the Tests, India put South Africa under a pile of runs – 502/7d and 601/5d – in the first innings, with the tourists' bowling attack proving ineffective. India triumphed in both the Tests by big margins to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

Rabada, who has accounted for just four wickets in the two Tests, said that South Africa's pacers lacked a major element – reverse swing.

"They [India] got the ball to reverse and they bowled well as a collective," Rabada said. "Their whole attack put pressure on us in every single aspect. Their spinners bowled well, and when the ball was reversing, their seamers could exploit that. We didn't really get the ball to reverse, and that's a major weapon of ours."

With South Africa's Test team looking to fill the gaps left by the retirements of Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, Rabada called on the team's youngsters to take the onus.

"It's never nice to lose, especially in the manner we're losing right now, but we're going through a transition period," he said. "Our team is fresh and young, so the best thing we can do is look at where we can improve, and remember our strengths and build on them."

https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/1453437
 
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