Twitter Reactions: Jasprit Bumrah five-fer and Keegan Petersen’s fighting 72 ends day two in balance

Keegan Petersen displayed solidity out in the middle and scored a masterly 72 on a pitch that was not the easiest for batting.

By R Sai Siddhharth

View : 16.8K

3 Min Read

Indian cricket team
info
Indian cricket team. (Photo by Grant Pitcher/Gallo Images/Getty Images)

The second day’s play once again saw the ball bossing over bat. India ended Day 2 with their scorecard reading 57/2, and are currently ahead by 70 runs. Both Indian openers were once again dismissed cheaply.

Mayank Agarwal edged Kagiso Rabada to first slip and walked back for just 7. His opening partner, KL Rahul followed him to the dressing room in the very next over. Marco Jansen bowled a full-length delivery, and Rahul edged the cherry to Aiden Markram in the slip cordon. However, experienced pros Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara saw the day through for the visitors.

Keegan Petersen acts as the fulcrum of the South African side

The Protean innings was all about one man, Keegan Petersen. The right-handed batter displayed solidity out in the middle and scored a masterly 72 on a pitch that was not the easiest for batting.

The balance that Petersen exhibited made him stand out from the rest. When the Indian bowlers went short, Petersen rocked onto the backfoot and punched the cherry past cover, and when the pacers gave him width the right-hander cut them with elan. Petersen even sprinkled some innovation into his innings and brought out the reverse sweep from his repertoire against Ravichandran Ashwin.

However, wickets kept tumbling at the other end. Resuming the day at 17/1, the Proteas lost their second wicket in the very first over of the day. Aiden Markram shouldered arms to an in dipper from Jasprit Bumrah, and his off stump was uprooted. Keshav Maharaj was then cleaned up by Umesh Yadav for 25.

Rassie van der Dussen and Petersen combined to forge a useful partnership of 67 runs for the 4th wicket. But, just when things were going smoothly, Yadav removed van der Dussen, as the right-hander edged the cherry to the slip cordon.

Temba Bavuma then came out and scored a 52-ball 28, and he was removed courtesy some brilliance from Virat Kohli. Bavuma edged a back of a length delivery from Mohammed Shami, and Kohli sprang to his left and took an excellent catch.

South Africa crumble quickly

After Bavuma’s departure, the Proteas crumbled quickly. Kyle Verreynne departed for a duck, and Marco Jansen walked back after contributing just 7. And then, Jasprit Bumrah scalped Petersen with a superb delivery. Bumrah bowled a good length delivery that held its line, and Petersen edged the cherry to Pujara in the slips and walked back for a sparkling 72.

It was only a ‘matter of time’ for India after Petersen’s departure, and the hosts were bowled out for 210 in their first innings.

Here are the reactions from Twitter

Get every cricket updates! Follow Us:

googletelegraminstagramwhatsappyoutubethreadstwitter

Download Our App

For a better experience: Download the CricTracker app from the IOS and Google Play Store
South Africa