Indian skipper Virat Kohli has been facing a lot of criticism from the cricketing pundits over the selection of the playing XI as he dropped the pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar for the ongoing second Test against South Africa in Centurion.
Off-spinner R Ashwin revealed on Saturday that the unexpected conditions at SuperSport Park in Centurion forced the team to make the last-minute changes.
After the pacers spread their web at Newlands in the first Test, India had decided to go in with an “all-seam attack” for the second Test. However, the team management then changed their decision and included Ashwin into the playing XI after inspecting the pitch on the eve of the second Test.
Talking about his selection, Ashwin said, “Two days from the game it looked like we are going to play an all-seam attack. And then when we walked into the ground yesterday, it was white in color, the grass was coming off. All of a sudden, I really had to pull myself back and think ‘I am in the game now.”
He further elaborated, “Today morning, when we came to the ground, it looked like a wicket that was really flat and had to have a spinner in the game. Personally, from my side of it, I was very happy that the grass was taken off, if not I think it would have been an all-seam attack. That’s the way it goes, right? I have seen a lot of cricket matches where people who haven’t been in contention to play the match, come in and get those wickets. So, this was one of those days.”
It was clearly visible that the after the seam-rich pitch in Newlands, SuperSport Park was expected to offer similar assistance to pacers.
Contrary to expectations, the Centurion track had nothing for fast bowlers on Day 1 as Indian pacers struggled against the South African batsmen. Shami and Bumrah, who troubled the South African batsmen in the second innings of the Cape Town, looked out of sorts on Saturday, conceding at 4.18 and 3.17 respectively without being able to get a breakthrough for the team.
On the other hand, Ashwin was clearly the star of the day for India with the ball as he picked up three wickets, including that of openers Aiden Markram (94), Dean Elgar (31). The third was Quinton de Kock (0).
