Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar feels that India’s lack of expertise in the bowling department was evident during the second session of Day 2 against South Africa. Despite the seam-friendly conditions in Centurion, the Men in Blue bowlers failed to utilize it and gave away easy runs to the Proteas batters.
The pitch had a thick layer of grass, allowing for uneven seam movement and slightly spongy bounce. However, against an inexperienced South African batting lineup, the Indian bowlers couldn’t pick up wickets at regular intervals and South Africa managed to score 256 runs in 66 overs at a run rate of 3.87 in extremely bowler-friendly conditions.
Speaking to Star Sports, Sanjay Bangar remarked that India’s relatively inexperienced bowlers struggled in the second session, which led to them leaking runs. He believes that the bowlers gave away too many easy runs to South African batsmen Dean Elgar, Tony De Zorzi, and David Bedingham.
“In the second session when they leaked runs and had an average of five runs an over, was surprising for the quality of bowling attack that India possesses. The inexperience came to the fore as the plan was to probably pitch the ball slightly up but the swing wasn’t really there. And that meant a lot of deliveries were driven by Elgar and De Zorzi, and later on the same trend continued,” Sanjay Bangar said.
During the second session, India conceded 141 runs while managing to take only two wickets. While opening bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj managed to apply pressure on the opposition, debutants Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur struggled. Experienced Dean Elgar and debutant David Bedingham built a 131-run fourth-wicket partnership that proved crucial in securing a first-innings lead for South Africa.
The Indian Team Would Be Disappointed With How They Bowled – Sanjay Bangar
Sanjay Bangar believes that the Indian team would be unhappy with their bowling performance in the first innings. On Day 2, the Proteas batsmen put up a strong attack, taking a commanding lead on a challenging batting surface.
“Overall I feel that the Indian team would be disappointed with how they bowled because they put runs on board. 245, by any stretch of the imagination, was going to be a tough score to get close to but South Africa have in fact surpassed it,” Sanjay Bangar added.
The former South African skipper, Dean Elgar remains unbeaten on 140 runs to help South Africa reach 256/5, which was an 11-run advantage. Unfortunately, insufficient light forced early stumps on Day 2. On Day 3, South Africa will try to extend their lead, while the Indian team will aim to restrict Elgar and his team from snatching the game away from them.
