India vs South Africa - "Lot To Do With Pitch": Ex-India Star's Clear Take On 23-Wicket Day

If 23 wickets fall in one day of a Test match, only two short of the all-time record, there are bound to be question marks. It cannot just be the poor batting or great bowling, there has to be something more than that. And if those 23 wickets fall on the first day of a Test then the questions will be more. That is what is happening after the first day of the second Test between India and South Africa in Cape Town on Wednesday.

First, South Africa were all out for a mere 55 and then the Indian cricket team got dismissed for 153. South Africa ended the day on 62/3. In all 23 wickets fell. The maximum number of wickets lost on Day 1 of a Test is 25 and that happened in an Ashes Test back in 1902.

Former Indian cricket team star Sanjay Manjrekar was asked about the reason on why such a dramatic day unfolded and his answer was quite straightforward.

"It's got a lot to do with the pitch. It's got a bit to do with new-age batting. Maybe nor focussing on defences, understandably so, because now Test cricket, if you look at it Test cricket third format when it comes to priority. When there is bit of life in the pitch, these things happen. It was almost like the bowlers were wearing a cape in Cape Town the way they bowled," Sanjay Manjrekar said on Star Sports.

"In this age of T20 Cricket, you can understand, not too much time spent by batters perfecting their Test match game. If we were born at this time, I would actually be focussing on white ball cricket because that has become the thing. Our time Test match was the main format. We focussed all our energies into that."

Proteas suffered a hammering from Indian bowlers and the entire team was back in pavilion for 55 in 23.2 overs. South Africa's previous lowest total against