"The way Elgar batted, he kept getting beaten; you need that sort of luck as well" - R Ashwin on 'different' Wanderers pitch

India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin has admitted that the Wanderers pitch was two-paced and quickened up as the game progressed.

After skittling out the hosts for 202, South Africa finished the opening day on 35 for 1. 35-year-old Ashwin looked the most comfortable of the Indian batters as he smashed a counter-attacking 46 off 50 balls to help his side cross the 200-run mark.

Runs came at a premium on the track, which Ashwin conceded is atypical of the Wanderers.

“I just felt the pitch was a little two-paced. Generally Wanderers has that tendency to start a bit slow and then start getting a bit quicker. It did quicken up a bit but it just feels a little different to a typical Wanderers pitch. So we’ll have to wait and see how it responds tomorrow – does it quicken up, does it continue to be two-paced, will the cracks open up – that’s something we can only judge at the end of the game,” Ravichandran Ashwin said at the post-day press conference.

Stand-in skipper KL Rahul once again flourished, top-scoring with a gritty 50 off 133 balls. But the Indian thinktank would be concerned about the yet-again low scores of Cheteshwar Pujara (3 off 33) and Ajinkya Rahane (0 off 1).

Asked if it was ideal to stay upright on a track which had deliveries rising from length, Ashwin stated not every batter will play the same way. However, he added that one could certainly do with a little bit of luck.

“With respect to staying upright or staying low, every batsman is different right and you will have to skin the cat the way you feel it. I think, when you go into bat, you also need that bit of luck to go your way – the way Elgar batted, he kept getting beaten – so you need that sort of a luck as well. I thought there was a very earnest attempt in terms of how we went about our business, but some of those dismissals do happen,” Ashwin elaborated.

Mohammad Shami snuffed out Aiden Markram for 7 off 12 deliveries, before skipper Dean Elgar (11 off 57) and Keegan Petersen (14 off 39) took their side unscathed into Day 2.

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“Marco Jansen bowled really well in the last couple of innings” – Ravichandran Ashwin

Left-armer Marco Jansen was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4 for 31 from 17 overs

Left-arm seam has often troubled Indian batters. 21-year-old Marco Jansen – who made his debut in the first Test - has held sway over the tourists in the last two innings, having picked up consecutive four-wicket hauls.

Ravichandran Ashwin was effusive in his praise of Jansen. Acknowledging his height advantage, the off-spinner highlighted the way the left-armer bounced back from being jittery in his maiden innings to now having 9 wickets in his kitty.

“He’s special, he’s 6’8", he’s got a bit of height, he’s got a bit of skill, he’s got a nice action, he gets close to the stumps with a quick side-on action. Whatever said and done, it’s not like somebody does a role in the nets and you can go out there and immediately sort it out. At the end of the day, all seamers have got wickets – Shami has got 9 wickets, Bumrah has got 8 odd wickets, Rabada has got wickets, Marco Jansen has also got wickets.

“It is South Africa, you expect quicks to get wickets, and to be overawed or to be over-cautious about anything is not worth it, you just go out and play the game. I thought he bowled well – first innings, I think he had a bit of nerves and he bowled really well in the last couple of innings,” Ashwin said in response to a Sportskeeda query.

India have never lost a Test in Johannesburg, and if the quicks can secure a first-innings lead, Virat Kohli’s boys would be well on course for their first-ever Test series win in the rainbow nation.