India V South Africa First Test - A Draw Where Everyone Won

 

India and South Africa were involved in one of the best Test matches played in modern day cricket. Yes, it was a Test match that went all the way down to the wire. But have South Africans proved to be chokers one again or did they go for the right move to save the Test match instead of lose it in trying to go for a win?

There are several answers to this one question from different perspective. However, one thing is for sure that the Test match never entertained one team in hopes of a win. At times the match tilted in India’s favor and at times South Africa looked the favorites.

It was Virat Kohli who took the fight to South Africa with a brilliant century. There is no doubt that he is a man for all occasions for India and he has proved that time and again. It was his innings that really put India into the game and gave some hopes in a totally hopeless situation early on.

There was a time in the Test when India was in total control of the Test match. That was towards the end of the fourth day and start of the fifth day. India was the favorites and the visitors were in total control of the match.

However, that situation didn’t remain for a long time. The South Africa batsmen batted India out of the game and started to threaten the target. Had SA reached the target that would have become one of the biggest chases in the history of Test cricket.

But more than India, it was South Africa who came in the firing line for being the chokers. In fact, South Africa had won the bulk of the battle and they gave up when the match was in their hands. They played out two consecutive maiden overs when things were looking under their control.

Getting 12 odd runs in three overs was nothing too much for them. However, they preferred to ‘save’ the Test match by going for a draw instead of losing all the wickets in giving a shot to win the match. It is hard to understand why they batted that way. But that was a terrific match that will give great memories for many more days to come.

Article Posted By : abhi_bangallView All Articles

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India V South Africa first Test , India V South Africa first Test result

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