South Africa vs India 2018: From Pujara's runouts to Parthiv's keeping, things that went wrong for India in the second Test

After losing the first Test, it is always difficult for a team to make a comeback in a short three-Test series. The story repeated itself as India lost a golden opportunity on a “favourable” Centurion wicket and were thumped in the second Test by a huge 135 run margin.

Right from when the first ball was bowled, everyone in the cricketing fraternity felt the nature of the wicket was suited for subcontinental teams. However, despite the favouring conditions, the visitors fell to a humiliating defeat in the end.

So, let’s look at what went wrong for Kohli’s men.

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#1 Batting failed miserably

2nd Sunfoil Test: South Africa v India, Day 2

After the first day, when Ashwin bowled more than 30 overs, one expected the Indian batsmen to score runs on a wicket that looked more like that of Chepauk than of Centurion.

While South Africa had five half-centuries in the match, Indian batting had only one hero in captain Virat Kohli, who scored a majestic 153 in the first innings. The next best score for India in the whole Test was 47 by Rohit Sharma which came at the end when the writing was on the wall.

There were too many soft dismissals and it was a case of batsmen not applying themselves on a wicket which needed patience to score runs. Classic examples were the wickets of KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya in the second innings. The former played a casual cut shot in the air off a nothing delivery only to be caught at point while the latter was caught behind while trying to play the ramp shot off one of the poorest deliveries in the match.

Both threw their wickets away when the need of the hour was to grind out the overs.

#2 Pujara “running” out of time in overseas conditions

Cheteshwar Pujara replaced the great Rahul Dravid at number three position and was expected to be the rock of this batting line up. Having scored mountains of runs in the recently concluded home season, Pujara was expected to do well in South Africa.

But so far, he has been very poor. He entered the record books as the first Indian batsman to be dismissed run out in both the innings of a Test. In the first innings, he decided to take a risky single off the very first ball he faced and was cleaned up by debutant Ngidi and once again in the second innings, when the whole team was dependent on him, he took a chance to come back for the third run but AB de Villiers was way too swift for Pujara.

#3 Pandya’s school-boy error

There is a very thin line between confidence and getting arrogance. Pandya has been backed by his captain to a great deal but he has been letting himself and the team down by either playing one shot too many or taking the game lightly and thereby committing a school-boy error.

When Kohli and Pandya were stitching together a partnership on day three, India were entertaining hopes of overtaking South Africa’s first innings total of 335. The game turned on its head when Pandya, after being sent back by Kohli, reached the crease casually and did not ground his bat inside the crease.

Ngidi’s throw hit the stumps and to everyone’s surprise, Pandya was caught napping and that opened the game for the home side.

#4 Parthiv’s keeping not up to Test standards

Parthiv Patel replaced the injured Wriddhiman Saha behind the stumps and it became very clear why Patel was never able to cement his place in the side. Even though the diminutive left-hander is a decent batsman, his work behind the stumps has always been under scrutiny.

He wasn’t moving fast enough to grab the edges, both outside and inside. On the fourth morning when Elgar nicked one off Bumrah, the ball went through the keeper and first slip Pujara. While it was always a keeper’s catch, Parthiv didn’t even make an attempt.

On many other occasions, he looked uncomfortable while keeping against both pace and spin. Ashwin could have had much better figures if only his wicketkeeper had been more alert.

#5 Ashwin couldn’t make an impact in the second innings

After picking up the second best figures (4-113) for a spinner in the first innings of a Test at Centurion, lots was expected out of R Ashwin in the second innings. Conceding a lead of 28, Virat Kohli decided to open the bowling with the off-spinner on a wicket that had quite a few rough patches created by fast bowlers from both sides.

After bowling almost 30 overs, Ashwin got only one wicket and that too of number 11 Ngidi who smashed it straight to long on.

Even though he had the left-handed Elgar dancing to his tunes at the start of the innings, Ashwin struggled to create any impact against the right-handers. His line of attack on middle and leg with fielders primarily on the leg side might have been a touch negative on that wicket. Instead, he could have used the rough outside the right-handers off stump a lot more to get them playing through covers against the turn.

Being the primary and only spinner in the side, Kohli would have expected a lot more from Ashwin especially in conditions very familiar to those in India.