Five-star Bumrah spearheads India fightback
Jasprit Bumrah’s maiden five-wicket Test haul and a magnificent exhibition of new-ball bowling from Bhuvneshwar Kumar catapulted India back into contention on the second day at The Wanderers, as the final match of the series looked set for an early finish. Hashim Amla’s gritty 61, and vital hands from Kagiso Rabada and Vernon Philander allowed South Africa to eke out a seven-run lead, but by stumps, India had moved to 49/1 in their second innings, a lead of 42.
Rabada, who had come in as nightwatchman the previous evening, was in no mood for a cameo, even as he lost Dean Elgar in the seventh over of the morning. Worked over repeatedly by Bhuvneshwar bowling round the wicket, Elgar finally edged one that slanted across him from over the wicket. In the minutes that followed, with the pitch facilitating extravagant seam movement and inconsistent bounce, Amla and Rabada often struggled to put bat to ball. With Ishant Sharma applying the tourniquet at the other end, Bhuvneshwar had figures of 9-7-4-2 at one stage.
But once those two were taken off, the pressure was quickly released. Mohammed Shami came on with a gift of five leg-side wides, while Rabada twice clipped Bumrah through mid-wicket. Amla top-edged a pull over the slips off Bumrah, but followed up with a lovely back-foot punch through point.
When Virat Kohli, the India captain, went back to Bhuvneshwar, an increasingly confident Rabada stepped out and tonked him over cover for four. Ishant was also recalled, and a huge lbw shout against Amla was reviewed by India, only for replays to show the ball grazing the bails – umpire’s call.
The 50-run partnership came up in 95 balls, and Amla had the crowd purring even more with a beautiful cover drive off Bhuvneshwar. Then, after being struck a painful blow under the ribs, he glanced Ishant for four, before tucking one neatly through mid-wicket.
Just when it looked like India’s frustration would encompass the lunch break as well, Ishant squared up Rabada for Ajinkya Rahane to take a fine catch at gully. Rabada had batted 130 minutes and 84 balls for his 30, adding 64 with Amla.
From 81/3 at lunch, South Africa’s innings quickly lost its moorings. AB de Villiers survived a confident leg-before shout that India didn’t review – replays showed he would have been out – before Amla, then on 33, survived another review thanks to umpire’s call. Ian Gould had turned down the original appeal thinking there was an inside edge.
De Villiers had no answer, however, to a dramatic in-swinger from Bhuvneshwar that followed a parabolic shape to take out the middle stump (92/4). A similar sort of delivery from Bumrah sent back Faf du Plessis for just 8, as he opted to shoulder arms (107/5). And when Quinton de Kock was caught behind off the inside edge, Bumrah had a second and India glimpsed a lead (125/6).
That they didn’t get it was down to Amla and Philander. Philander, like Bhuvneshwar the previous afternoon, played his shots from the outset, and South Africa went to tea at 143/6, with Amla having raised his half-century from 98 balls.
After the break, Philander went through the gears, driving Ishant, Bhuvneshwar and Shami through the gaps in the off-side. But on a pitch where no batsman looked secure, another twist wasn’t far away. It came when Amla (61 off 121) clipped Bumrah straight to Hardik Pandya at deep square leg (169/7), to end a 44-run stand.
Philander kept swinging, despite being hit on the gloves, and his luck ran out when he hooked Shami down to fine leg, where Bumrah took an excellent running catch. South Africa were 12 behind at that stage, but some lower-order swash and buckle from Andile Phehlukwayo and Morne Morkel nudged them ahead. Bumrah eventually trapped Phehlukwayo leg before with a full toss, and had Lungi Ngidi caught down the leg-side to end the innings.
Faced with a tricky 75-minute passage to negotiate before stumps, India sprung a surprise by having Parthiv Patel open with Murali Vijay. Parthiv started off with an ungainly fend over the slips for four, but then tucked away leg-side boundaries off both Philander and Rabada. After racing to 16 from 15 balls, he was unlucky that another attempt to work the ball through mid-wicket took his inside edge and lobbed off the pad in the direction of gully. Aiden Markram ran in to take a sensational catch an inch off the ground.
But Rahul, who played some fine strokes through the covers, and Vijay, who left the ball with far greater authority, saw India through to stumps, and a small advantage in what is likely to be a game of very fine margins.
