By Shamik Chakrabarty in Guwahati
New captain, same old story. India’s toss fortune didn’t change. Be it Shubman Gill or Rishabh Pant for this Test, India’s captains have been defying the Probability Theory for fun, tongue firmly ensconced in cheek. In the second Test against South Africa here in Guwahati, Temba Bavuma once again called correctly and opted to bat first on a pitch that has already shown some signs of assisting spin as the game progresses.
Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton made a cautious start, the right approach for the first session of a Test match. The first boundary came after five overs, Markram standing tall and playing a forcing shot off the back foot through the covers. Jasprit Bumrah responded with a beauty, an away-goer that took a thick edge to KL Rahul at second slip. Rahul is usually a safe slip fielder, but he dropped the sitter. Markram was on eight then and South Africa 16/0.
It can happen to the very best, but India’s fielding slip-ups in the first couple of hours of this Test weren’t restricted solely to that dropped catch. In Washington Sundar’s first over, a misfield from Yashasvi Jaiswal at mid-wicket allowed Markram a single. Then, in a Nitish Kumar Reddy over, Markram made a late call for a run after pushing the ball wide of mid-on. Maybe there was half a chance of a run-out, but Mohammed Siraj fumbled.
In England in the summer, India had dropped 23 catches in a five-Test series. In the Asia Cup that followed, 12 catches were let go. T Dilip, India’s fielding coach, continues to be under the scanner.
Earlier, as RevSportz reported, India made two changes to their playing XI from the first Test in Kolkata. Sai Sudharsan expectedly replaced the injured Gill and he will bat at No. 3, with Washington moving down the order. Reddy, the seam-bowling all-rounder, came in for Axar Patel, the spin-bowling one.
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