Hashim Amla describes Johannesburg wicket as one of the spiciest wickets

Before the start of the final Test, the pitch at the Wanderers in Johannesburg created buzz and was deemed to favour the seam bowlers. A couple of days into the Test match and the pitch has already started showing its indifferent nature. Cracks have widened as few deliveries have exploded off them to catch the batsmen off-guard.

However, amidst the dominance by the bowlers, Hashim Amla stood tall and staved off India’s pace battery with sheer expertise. He notched a gutsy knock of 61 runs off 121 balls and was one of the primary reasons why South Africa overhauled India’s first innings score. He once got smacked on the ribs, but he didn’t lose concentration and carried on his with his impressive show.

The ‘spice’ of the Johannesburg wicket

After the day’s place, Amla spoke to the media regarding the nature of the challenging wicket at Johannesburg. “It’s probably one of the spiciest wickets that I’ve played on. There have been a couple over the last one or two years that have been quite difficult. In England there were one or two. It’s quite challenging,” Amla quipped.

He took charge after the fall of the second wicket and carried on for a chunk of South Africa’s first innings. Even as the Indian bowlers kept tormenting the Proteas batsmen, Amla employed a composed approach and never got swayed by the commotion at the other end. “No one can hide from the fact that you can get out every ball. By the same token, it’s challenging as a batsman. Sometimes we get onto wickets that are pretty flat and you can score lots of runs” Amla added.

After South Africa marched on to take a lead, Murali Vijay and Lokesh Rahul played with guts to end India’s campaign on the second day. South Africa, on the other hand, will be itching to make inroads into the Indian batting and restrict them from setting a daunting target for them to chase down.

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