Ngidi double strike leaves India reeling in chase

South Africa was bowled out in the tenth over after tea, with Mohammed Shami’s four wickets playing a key role in keeping India in the contest.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has sanctioned India captain Virat Kohli for repeatedly complaining to the umpires about a damp ball and then aggressively throwing it to the floor during the second test against South Africa in Pretoria. The wicket came as a huge blow for the visitors given that Pandya and Kohli had added 45 runs for the sixth-wicket stand when the incident happened. The wicketkeeper kept watching as the ball went into the gap and away for four, expecting Cheteshwar Pujara at first slip to go for it. It was a shame that none of the batsmen could play a supporting role; things could have been a lot different for India if they had.

The Proteas celebrate on 16 January 2018, day 4 of their Test series against India.

However, Kohli’s joy was cut short as another suicidal moment of running between the wickets gifted South Africa a breakthrough, as Pandya was run-out for not running his bat in.

Earlier on Sunday, India finished the day with a score of 183/5 at stumps on Day 2.

“Virat´s innings was very crucial for us”. Our fast bowlers thrive on bowling on wickets like this. Ishant Sharma took 2 for 40, while Ravichandran Ashwin had figures of 1 for 78. “But, OK, whatever it is we have to play on it and the conditions are same for both teams”. We just need to crack on and try and win a Test. That period not only allowed South Africa to rebuild their innings in the form of a 46-run partnership between Faf du Plessis and Vernon Philander but may have also cost India this Test. Time was not a factor for South Africa; building the lead and tiring the bowlers so that they could cash in later was of more value. But two overs reducing South Africa to 163/5, he was inexplicably pulled out of the attack and not given a bowl for the next 29 overs.

South Africa, who lead the three-match series 1-0, will head into the final day in a commanding position as India look to eclipse the 251 for eight made by England in 2000. On a pitch where runs and wickets both had to be earned, it was the sort of soft dismissal that India could ill-afford. He hit just four fours, but that barely mattered for the bigger picture.

On a pitch that is not offering much to the seamers, de Villiers and Elgar will look to increase South Africa’s lead quickly to set a solid target for India and give their bowlers enough to defend.

The South African captain received a standing ovation from coach Ottis Gibson and his teammates for an innings of 48 that lasted three and three-quarter hours, in which there was little dazzling stroke-play but plenty of hard graft.

A better gauge might be the next best score, 228-9, also by England, in 2009. Chasing 287 for victory, India lost Murali Vijay and Lokesh Rahul early, with the latter falling to a forgettable shot off Ngidi.