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SPORTS JANUARY 12, 2024 | The Indian Eye 42

Blame it on the pitch!

India’s Test win at Newlands

sparks a row and war of words

Indian Skipper Rohit Sharma labels their maiden Cape Town Test victory

as being right up with India’s famous Gabba victory in 2021

OUR BUREAU
Cape Town
n a bizarre turn of events, the sec-
ond Test at Newlands, saw India
Iclaiming a seven-wicket win with
a total of 642 deliveries bowled in
both innings. The Test was the short-
est in the history of red-ball cricket,
eclipsing the previous shortest in-
volving Australia and South Africa in
1932 in Melbourne (656).
After completing the win in five
sessions, Rohit talked about the im-
portance of their emphatic victory
and said as quoted from ESPNcricin-
fo, “It’ll be one of our best Test
match victories. Having not won here
in Cape Town [before], obviously this
puts it right up there with all the vic-
tories that we’ve had. It’s very hard
to compare the Test matches that you
play because every Test match has its
own importance and own relevance.
The Test match that we won at The
Gabba as well. The last test match
that was lost by Australia in Brisbane
was in 1988, I think. Nearly after 23,
24 years [32 years] we won the Test
match there. It kind of became like
their fortress. They never lose a test
match there.”
India’s leading pace pair of Jasprit
Bumrah (6-61) and Mohammed Siraj
(6-15) were the architects of India’s
redeeming, series-levelling win. Siraj’s
first-inning spell set the tone of the
game as South Africa succumbed to a
score of 55. In the second inning, Bum-
rah ran past South Africa’s middle or-
der and ensured South Africa couldn’t
put up a massive score on the board.
“And the way we won that Test Rohit Sharma and South Africa’s skipper Dean Elgar share the trophy after the third Test (ANI)
match as well was quite important.
From where we came, we were 1-nil you can’t really rank the Test match- for us to come here and perform. I Rohit further went on to speak
down, we won in Melbourne and es, but this has to be right up there give a lot of credit to our team to put about the importance of determining
then we drew the Test match in Syd- because we had not won here. That up a performance like that and win the conditions and then sticking to
ney and then won in Brisbane. So, shows how important a venue this is the game,” Rohit said. Continued on next page... >>

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