By: Tarish Bhatt
When India declared half an hour before lunch, South Africa knew they have to dig in, dig deep and keep digging if they want to remain alive in the match. And, they managed to do so in Kotla, taking the game into the final day.
South Africa, however, lost Dean Elgar just at the stoke of lunch, but Hashim Amla and young Temba Bavuma put up a superb fight, and defended almost everything to keep the Indian bowlers at bay.
Throughout the innings, South Africa’s scoring rate was less than an over, but it hardly mattered because they were hell bent on playing for a draw, and knew chasing 481 would be next to impossible.
South Africa could only manage to score 72 runs in 72 overs at stumps on the fourth day, with Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers displaying immense application and mental strength.
The final day of the Kotla Test is going to be a test of Indian bowlers, spinners in particular, and also of Virat Kohli’s captaincy seeing how South Africa negotiated them on the fourth day in Delhi.
Hashim Amla was rock solid in the middle, despite losing Temba Bavuma, who got an absolute beauty from Ravichandran Ashwin in the final session. Ravichandran Ashwin also dismissed Dean Elgar.
AB de Villiers, meanwhile, played opposite to his flamboyant style, and started from where Temba Bavuma left the blocking game for South Africans, who are still 409 runs behind the target.
Earlier, in the morning session, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane started off positively, as India marched towards building a solid lead over South Africa.
Virat Kohli was unlucky to have missed out on a hundred on his home ground, when a Kyle Abbott ball didn’t bounce and hit him on the pad. Ajinkya Rahane, however, managed to complete his second century of the match.
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