11 Balls, 6 wickets, 0 Runs: India's Spectacular Collapse vs South Africa Is A First In 147 Years

03.01.2024 - 15:56 sports.ndtv.com

It was one of those days, where unexpected things were always round the corner in Cape Town. On a bright sunny morning on Wednesday, South Africa capitulated for just 55 with fast bowler Mohammed Siraj breathing fire.

He took six wickets as India bowled out its rivals for the lowest score ever by any team against the side. However, that was just the first part of the thriller that was about to unfold.

India were expected to take a huge lead. Though the Rohit Sharma-led side took the lead comfortably, the incidents that began to unravel from the 34th over of the Indian innings was beyond any explanation.

With the scoreboard reading 153/4, Lungi Ngidi first scalped KL Rahul. In the same over, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah departed too.

cricket South Africa Cricket Team India Cricket Team South Africa vs India Kagiso Rabada Virat Kohli Rohit Sharma Ravi Shastri South Africa India

India beat South Africa by seven wickets despite a stunning century by Aiden Markram on the second day of the second Test at Newlands on Thursday. The win helped the side level the two-match series 1-1. This was only the second time that India managed to draw a Test series in the Rainbow Nation. They have played a total of nine Test series in South Africa and lost seven of them. The comeback victory on Thursday, however, did give a big boost to the Indian players' confidence.

"Unfair To Blame...": Sanjay Manjrekar Defends India Star After Poor South Africa Display

After the completion of the India vs South Africa series, former India cricketer, Sanjay Manjrekar believes that one of the main reasons behind India's loss against South Africa at Centurion was purely due to poor performance by their bowlers and went onto defend Shardul Thakur despite his disappointing performance in the first Test. Thakur was dropped from the playing XI for the second Test at Cape Town due to his poor performance in the first Test of the series where he was able to pick only one wicket in his spell of 19 overs where he conceded 101 runs. The right-arm seamer, Mukesh Kumar replaced Thakur for the second Test where the bowler snapped four wickets in the match. Manjrekar opined that the entire Indian bowling team failed collectively in the first Test and that the think tank may have desired a better batter at No. 8, where Thakur excels.

Revisiting Viral Moment When Indian Cricket Team Star Complained Of Hole In Newlands Pitch During 2nd Test Against South Africa

The Newlands pitch has been in the headlines ever since the first day of the second Test between India and South Africa saw a whopping 23 wickets fall. As game resumed on the second day, India struck early, with Jasprit Bumrah sending back David Bedingham. However, not longer after the Proteas lost their 4th wicket of the second innings, play came to a brief halt as India pacer Mukesh Kumar complained of a hole in the pitch where his foot was landing while bowling. Though India captain Rohit Sharma downplayed the situation, hammers came out as the ground staff looked to resolve the matter.

India vs South Africa: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli's DRS Discussion In Second Test Has Internet In Splits For 'Wrong' Language

With just one wicket to go and three reviews remaining, the Indian cricket team decided to make use of their resources, although knowing that the result was unlikely to come in their favour. Mohammed Siraj hit South Africa's Nandre Burger high on the right right, on Day 2 of the second Test at Cape Town, but the umpire had little interest in rewarding Team India's appeal. However, realising that India have three DRS calls to spare, Rohit contemplated going for a review, after a brief discussion with teammates, but eventually decided against taking it.

"Not Pleasing To...": Rohit Sharma On India's 6-Wickets-For-0-Run Collapse vs South Africa In Second Test

Rohit Sharma's countenance reflected his pain at India's failure to win a Test series in South Africa and breach the team's 'final frontier' but the skipper said on Thursday they "would take pride" from their seven-wicket victory in the second Test in Cape Town. Coming off an innings and 32-run mauling in the series-opener in Centurion, India fought back strongly to emerge victorious here inside five sessions and share the spoils in the two-match rubber. "When you come to this part of the world, it's always difficult but we take pride in our performance outside of India. South Africa always challenge us and for us to come out here and win, we can take pride in this performance," Rohit said at the post-match presentation.

India complete seven-wicket win in record-breaking test v South Africa

CAPE TOWN :India chased down a modest victory target of 79 to claim a seven-wicket win over hosts South Africa in the second test at Newlands on Thursday and share the two-match series 1-1 after an extraordinary game finished inside five sessions.