Debasis Sen, Johannesburg: The 22 yards at the Wanderers Stadium is turning out to be the villain as the wickets has been falling like nine-pins. The first two days of the third and final test match has seen 21 wickets falling with India slight having their nose ahead after Day 2. Jasprit Bumrah, who took five wickets playing in only his third test match, was surprised to bowl on such a strip.
“We haven’t played on such wickets where there is so much help for the bowlers,” said Bumrah after the day’s play.
On being asked about the discussion in the change room about the wicket, Bumrah said, “Yeah it’s a little different. We haven’t played on such a wicket, I would say. But we are not too critical of the pitch because the match is going on as we can’t stray away from the topic. So that is the basic plan — don’t focus on the wicket. We are focusing on what we have to do right now.”
Bumrah was critical about the 22 yards here. According to the medium pacer, “It’s a little difficult for the batsmen as some balls are up and down and that could prove to be dangerous. But we are not focusing on those things right now. We feel the match is in the balance right now.”
Meanwhile Hashim Amla acknowledged that this was one of the toughest wickets he had ever batted on.
“I can think back recently when we played in England and there were a couple of tough wickets there. This one has a lot of pace and bounce and it is quite challenging as a batsman,” Amla said.
“There is nothing you can do about it. You try your best when you’re batting and that’s it.
“It’s a spicy wicket … nobody can hide from the fact that you can get out on every ball.
“Whether it’s too excessive or not? Ask the batsmen … what do you think they’ll say?”
Amla was then asked to compare the extremities of this Wanderers wicket to what the Proteas faced in India, particularly in Nagpur, where they were given a dust bowl as India’s spinner thrived.
“Both were very difficult to bat on,” he said.
“The difference here is if you look at Centurion, in particular, the wicket didn’t suit us one bit. For us to win the game in those kind of sub-continent conditions proved that we are playing good cricket.”
India will resume their second innings on 49/1 on Friday, 42 runs ahead of the Proteas.