In a dramatic turn of events, The Men in Blue suffered an incredible collapse as they crumbled from 153/4 in the 34th to be bowled out for the same score in the 35th over of the game. Rohit Sharma-led side were blown away by the hot spells of Lungi Ngidi and Kagiso Rabada, losing their final six wickets without scoring a single run.
For the first time in Test cricket history, a team lost six wickets without scoring a single score. India’s historic failure occurred immediately following the removal of the Indian wicket-keeper batter KL Rahul. India lost the wickets of Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Virat Kohli, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna following Rahul’s dismissal.
The Men In Blue tied the dreadful record for most ducks scored in a single innings. Previously, in 2014, India got six ducks in a single innings against England in Manchester. Six Indian cricketers were out for ducks in the first innings of the second Test match. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna all failed to score for the team.
Team India’s fortunes took a turn from the 1st test as Rohit Sharma-led capitalized the conditions with excellent performance on the opening day of their second Test against South Africa in Cape Town on Thursday. Mohammed Siraj’s morning attack yielded an astonishing six-wicket haul, leaving South Africa reeling at their lowest post-apartheid score of 55.
Siraj destroyed the Proteas batting order on a hot Wednesday morning with a display of superb pace, swing, and seam action. South African batters found no answers to his fierce spell of fast bowling as David Bedingham (12) and Kyle Verreynne (15) were the only batsmen who managed to reach double digits as the Proteas were bowled out for 55 in 23.2 overs.
Coming on to bat, India’s fortunes took an unexpected turn in the final session of Day 1, as they lost six wickets in eleven deliveries, turning a strong position of 153 for 4 into a fragile 98-run lead, with six Indian batsmen unable to open their accounts in the team. Lungi Ngidi and Kagiso Rabada took advantage of the sudden collapse, capturing five key wickets in a span of two overs.
South Africa completed the day at 62 for 3 in their second innings, closing the deficit to 36 runs, with Aiden Markram displaying excellent form at 36 not out and the team would be keen on applying themselves on the tough conditions on Day 2 to post a competitive total on board.