While India managed to win the second Test in Cape Town, Newlands, the concerns are palpable.
While India managed to win the second Test in Cape Town, Newlands, the concerns are palpable. There are plenty of loopholes visible in the Test setup. India need to find solutions quickly before the crucial assignments against England at home before touring down under for their biggest challenge of the year.
Apart from visible concerns, Rohit Sharma’s captaincy has also been questionable. While he has led the team well, some of his errors were shocking. Experts criticised some of his calls in the South Africa series.
In this segment, we look at the three costly errors made by Rohit Sharma against South Africa.
When South Africa came to bat in the first Test after a lunch break, Rohit Sharma started the session with Shardul Thakur and brought Prasidh Krishna from the other end. It was his biggest blunder of the series, called out by Ravi Shastri. India had Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj fresh after a 40-minute break, and the batters were unsettled during the start of a new session.
Both premium bowlers were also threatening in the first session, with Siraj also bringing the only breakthrough for India. Rohit handed the ball to two weaker links of the bowling unit, and they could never apply pressure on batters. Still, the Indian captain persisted with them for eight overs, and the duo leaked 42 runs without taking any wickets, allowing both batters to get their eye in.
When Rohit finally introduced Bumrah, he showed his class. The bowler dismissed Tony de Zorzi in just his third over of the spell before taking another wicket in his following over. Clearly, the captain missed the trick and made a basic error.
Sometimes, the outcome might overshadow a mistake on the cricket field. When India finally managed to send back Dean Elgar, Rohit Sharma didn’t bring Jasprit Bumrah immediately from Ravichandran Ashwin’s end to kill the innings right away. Ashwin was the least effective bowler for India in the first Test.
Gerald Coetzee would be pleased to face Ashwin when new to the crease rather than Bumrah. He swung his bat at everything, scoring crucial 19 runs. Ashwin eventually dismissed him, but the decision to persist with him was probably an error.
Had Rohit brought Bumrah, fresh after an extended break, Coetzee might not have added as many runs. Even if he did, Rohit would have done his part by taking the right call. While the mistake didn’t cost India, Rohit again failed to shuffle his bowlers well.
That said, Rohit’s lack of trust in Ashwin in general despite picking him in the XI was baffling. Why pick a player in the XI when you don’t trust him to deliver on a certain surface?
India started the second day with Jasprit Bumrah and Mukesh Kumar in the second Test. When they bought Mohammed Siraj as the first change, he conceded 11 runs in his first attempt. Rohit Sharma removed him immediately from the attack.
He introduced Prasidh Krishna from his end. The move didn’t work, as Krishna went a step further and conceded 20 runs in his first over. Still, he continued.
Siraj was bought from the other end after four overs, and he picked a wicket immediately. The whole thought process was a bit confusing, for Rohit probably wanted an immediate response from his bowlers. Siraj was their best bet to stop Markram, even though he conceded 11 runs. Maybe Rohit wanted to change his end, but he should have waited longer rather than giving a solitary over.
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