"Paying tribute to England" - Twitterati slam visitors as batting line-up collapses again in 1st India vs South Africa Test

Twitter trolls India after batting collapse.
Twitter trolls India after batting collapse.

Netizens came down heavily on Team India as the batting lineup undid the good work on Day 1 by collapsing on Day 2 in Centurion. India went from from 278-3 to 327-10 in the first innings of the first Test against South Africa, leaving Indian fans upset with the batting performance. .

The Proteas took the field on Wednesday with a revived spirit. Getting help from a quickened and tangibly bouncier track, they kept the Indian batters on their toes. Kagiso Rabada got rid of the best batter so far, KL Rahul, for 123 before Lungi Ngidi joined in by invoking a rash cut shot from Ajinkya Rahane on 48.

There were expectations from India's lower order of Rishabh Pant, Ravichandran Ashwin and Shardul Thakur to at least put up a fight.

But they, too, crumbled under the heat of tight body lines, spicy bouncers, and strict fields. None of the them scored in double digits, with the wicketkeeper-batter facing the most deliveries among them - 13.

Pant and Shami fell to Nigidi - who recorded a magnificent six-wicket haul in the process - while Thakur and Ashwin lost their wickets to Rabada.

Tellingly, the best knock of the lower-order came from pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who hit a couple of crisp, full-stretched drives on his way to a 17-ball 14. His former Mumbai Indians teammate, Marco Jansen got him out as his maiden Test wicket, to cap off the collapse.

Twitter reacted to the shoddy show with a variety of responses. Some related it to England's similar but top-order-concentrated collapse earlier in the day. Others expressed the delight of seeing India's pacers on the fiery wicket, while a few simply joined the fun with hilarious memes. The following are the best reactions:

Bumrah gets India off to a flier after batting collapse

Bumrah provided his team with just what they needed by dismissing South African captain Dean Elgar with a beautiful out-seaming delivery. He reduced the hosts to 2-1, setting up a riveting rest of Day 2.

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