India was on the back foot after the opening day of Cape Town Test against South Africa as they lost their three wickets without anything to show on the scoreboard. The following day was very vital for them and India tried to level best to stay in the race.
If India is still in some position, flamboyant all-rounder Hardik Pandya is the reason behind it, who scored a sparkling 93 with the bat before snaring two wickets with the bowl. Though, South Africa is in position to dictate term and India will be playing the chasing game on day three.
The day started with some stubbornness of Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma, but the latter fell to Kagiso Rabada’s raw pace. A slow first session was followed by a fast second one, where South Africa managed as many as four wickets but a Hardik special knock denied them any more success, who found a special partner in Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Both batsmen added 99 runs for the 8th wicket and took India out from a fear of getting out of the contest. However, Pandya couldn’t complete his individual hundred and got out to Rabada on 93 and India finished their innings at 209.
In the reply, Proteas batsmen took their team off to a different start from first innings. Aiden Markram and Dean Elgar shared a 52-run stand for the first wicket but soon both perished in consecutive overs of Pandya, who will remember this day for a long time in his life. The hosts ended this day on 65/2 (effectively 142/2) with nightwatchman Rabada and Hashim Amla are in the middle.
