Debutant Lungi Ngidi Six-for Floors India As Proteas Seal 2nd Test And Series

The Indian fightback in the second Test fizzled out in the first innings itself as they lost by 135 runs to South Africa at the SuperSport Park in Centurion.
Lungi Ngidi excelled in his debut Test to bag a six-for and show what a special talent he is. A star was truly born at Centurion and it was indeed a great day for the 21-year-old debutant. With this massive loss India surrendered the series 0-2 and now a dead-rubber Test await both the sides from January 24 at Johannesburg.

Ngidi was backed exceptionally well by World No. 1 Kagiso Rabada, who bagged three scalps and got the most vital wicket of Rohit Sharma (47). The duo took nine wickets between them to lead the show as it also highlighted the dearth of young pacers South Africa have in their kitty. Ngidi notched the seventh best figures for a debutant South African bowler with his 6/39.
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He was ecstatic with his performance and cited the turnaround he has had. “The moment hasn’t really sunk in. I am very chuffed with my performance and I’m very happy at the moment. Been a quick turnaround for me,” said Ngidi.
Virat Kohli will be exceedingly disappointed with the batting and fielding from his side as none of the batsmen showed character to what it takes to show in the longest format. The skipper was highly disappointed with the batting performance and the lack of partnerships from his side and highlighted the same in the post-match conference.
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“We failed to get a good partnership and take lead. We have let ourselves down from the first game into the second. The bowlers have done the job but the batsmen have let the team down again and that’s why we stand here,” said Kohli.
Indeed with more overseas tours await for Kohli’s side as the year progresses, the likes of England, Australia and New Zealand will be monitoring India’s performance in South Africa and take note. India were bowled out for 151 runs in pursuit of 287 as partnerships lacked in the batting. Interestingly the top three batsmen for India averages just 14.6 to show how parched the batting has been.
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STAT ATTACK:
India’s performances in South Africa last three series
2010/11: 1-1 (Draw)
2013/14: 0-1 (South Africa win)
2017/18: 0-2* (South Africa win)
Earlier, India, who resumed at 35/3 started off in a positive manner and Cheteshwar Pujara’s run-out paved the way for the inroads. Pujara ran himself out for the second time in this Test match in unconvincing fashion as he departed for just 19 runs, His lack of form this series at the crucial No. 3 position has hurt the side. Parthiv Patel was next to follow suit and his pull shot off Rabada saw Morene Morkel pull off a stunning catch to peg India at 65/5.
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Rohit Sharma continued surging forward playing positively and with Hardik Pandya at No. 7 there was a bit if hope. But Pandya poked a wide ball looking to steer the ball over the slips and offered a catch which Quinton de Kock accepted. Ravichandran Ashwin came and went to leave India reeling at 87/7. Rohit continued to get the runs and Mohammed Shami supported him with some good shots all around as the dup stitched a 54-run stand.
Rohit hit six fours and a six in his 47-run show and unlike the first three innings, he played his natural game this time.

The Proteas kept the ball short and had a plan for Rohit that paid off eventually. His shot off a short Rabada delivery found Ab de Villiers, who pulled off a blinder at deep fine-leg to end Rohit’s stay. Shami and Jasprit Bumrah followed suit in quick fashion to hand the hosts a brilliant win.
South African skipper Faf du Plessis highlighted that the second innings score in the end made the difference. “We were short in the first innings. We needed to get 400, especially from the position we were in, but for me the vital time was the second innings. We kept pushing the scoring and we knew that anything over 250 would be challenging. So the guys were grinding hard to get over 250,” said the Proteas skipper.