Top three reasons behind India’s loss to South Africa during first Test in Centurion

The first test match between South Africa and India ended within three days. The visitors lost the game by a margin of an inning and 32 runs. Barring Virat Kohli’s 75-run knock and Shubman Gill’s 26 none of the other batters managed to reach double figures. 

South Africa on the other hand saw their team perform well with the bat and ball throughout the contest. Stand-in skipper Dean Elgar scored 185 runs from 287 balls to help his side to an over lead of 163. Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen, and Nandre Burger then combined to bowl out India for just 131.

With the final Test nearly a week away the Indian team has plenty of time to ponder over the loss. In this article, we take a look at the possible three reasons behind India’s crushing loss during the Centurion Test. 

Lack of match practice –

Team India was playing the T20I and ODI series when the Test team landed in South Africa. Apart from an intra-squad match, the Test specialists did not have much practice. The likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in particular were playing cricket after a month away from the sport. The likes of Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer haven’t had the greatest year with the bat as far as the longest format of the game is concerned. This showed during the two Innings that Indian batters played during the Centurion Test.

The missing Experience factor –

The last time the Indian team toured South Africa, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane were part of the squad. Former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar made note of this fact and questioned the logic behind Rahane’s exclusion. The Indian middle-order looked brittle during the Centurion Test and the absence of Pujara and Rahane was massively felt.

Questionable bowling changes and bowler’s discipline –

The biggest turning point during the Centurion Test came just after the luncheon break on day two. Rohit Sharma brought Shardul Thakur and Prasidh Krishna and this seemed to change the course of the game. Ravi Shastri had questioned why Bumrah and Siraj were preferred over the two bowlers who had been taken for runs.

Shardul Thakur in particular came in for harsh punishment from the opposition. The 32-year-old was also plagued with no-ball issues during the game which gave away crucial runs. Another interesting point to note was that Ravichandran Ashwin bowled very few overs despite being the most experienced in the team.