"If he gets 1 wicket it's a different Ashwin that you'll see" - Dinesh Karthik after Day 3 of 1st India vs South Africa Test

Dinesh Karthik has backed spin stalwart Ravichandran Ashwin to come good in the final innings of India's first Test against South Africa in Centurion. Karthik feels Ashwin went wicketless in the first innings because he was confined to a defensive role and it's only a matter of one wicket before the spinner returns to his best form.

Like the opening day, fast-bowlers dominated Day 3 entirely, with all 21 wickets so far going to the pacers. India bowled out South Africa for 197 in the second innings. Ashwin did bowl 13 overs but mostly with just one or two aggressive fielders. His role was to simply hold one end as Virat Kohli rotated three pacers on the other.

On the show 'Cricbuzz Chatter', Karthik was asked about Ashwin's possible role in the final essay. The wicketkeeper-batter said it will be a "lot more" than in the first innings, adding that the spinner will also benefit from the rough created by left-arm pacer Marco Jansen's footmarks. Karthik remarked:

"Oh definitely, a lot more than he did in the first innings, for a start. Obviously, in the first innings, the situation he bowled in was very different. It was more like they had picked up the wickets, they needed to give a break to the faster bowlers so he bowled to very defensive fields. I think if he gets one wicket it's a different Ashwin that you'll see with the people there in the short leg and silly point, putting the pressure. And if the cracks do open up, with Marco Jansen again coming back to the bowl and creating the rough. So Ashwin will be far more in the game."

Karthik, however, doesn't feel that Ashwin will have a massive impact on the match. He predicted that the 35-year-old will pick "a wicket or two" because most contributions will still come from India's fast-bowlers. Karthik added:

"But I don't see him picking more than 1-2 wickets and I say that because I feel that majority of the wickets need to be picked by the four fast bowlers... At this point, Ashwin will play the holding role but I still see him picking a wicket or two in the second innings."

Ashwin might have got even fewer overs to bowl had Jasprit Bumrah not missed most of the innings after twisting his ankle.

There is bounce on the surface, which Ashwin showed in Australia he can use to his advantage brilliantly, but apart from that, there isn't much for him to work with yet. If the cracks open up in the coming days, he might extract some turn and grip.

Shaun Pollock lauds India's Mohammed Shami

While Ashwin went wicketless, fast-bowler Mohammed Shami shone brightly as ever. The right-arm pacer displayed stunning control to pick up his sixth five-wicket haul in Test cricket, while also reaching 200 wickets for India in the format.

Speaking in the same interaction, Shaun Pollock, who had predicted Shami to do well in advance, said he knew that the pacer's short build, skiddy style, and consistency in terms of line and length made him a "handful" for the Proteas.

Pollock said:

"I just thought the lengths I have seen Shami bowl over the years, the fact that maybe he is not as tall as some of the other bowlers, and he's a little bit more skiddy, meant that he was going to be hitting those areas more often... He's not a massive mover of the ball so he always seems like he's in and around that off-stump, and it's not shaping away or doing too much and that's what makes him such a difficult customer to deal with. I really think he understands the game better now than ever. That's why I just knew he was going to be a handful."

India is currently sitting strong with a lead of 146. The play will resume at 1:30 PM IST on Thursday.