IND vs SA: Vernon Philander questions technique of batters, Dale Steyn slams Newlands pitch

With the second Test between India and South Africa not even lasting 2 whole days, the Newlands pitch has come under plenty of scrutiny with former players like Dale Steyn expressing their opinions on the surface.

“Why we so scared of cracks? Think Sydney, Perth. Cracks so wide you can park a car inside them, and yet they always get to days 4 and 5! Pointless a test being over so fast you don’t even see a hint of a crack. Pitches deteriorate over the days, let it happen. Two day tests are not Test matches,” Steyn tweeted.

Former Protea player Vernon Philander, however, questioned the techniques of the batters while playing on a pitch as tricky as this one which saw 33 wickets fall in one and a half day.

Why we so scared of cracks?
Think Sydney, Perth. Cracks so wide you can park a car inside them, and yet they always get to days 4 and 5! Pointless a test being over so fast you don’t even see a hint of a crack.
Pitches deteriorate over the days, let it happen. Two day tests are…

— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) January 4, 2024

“One thing we have to point out is the technique of the batsmen especially on surfaces that are a bit tricky,” he said.

“The fans have been thoroughly entertained in two days of fascinating cricket. Obviously South Africa won the fir4st one convincingly and then India bounced back convincingly. Both teams obviously played some of their best cricket and also some of their worst cricket. At this juncture of the tour, both teams found a better rhythm and you certainly miss the third and decider,” he added.

In the match, India beat South Africa by seven wickets to share the honours in the two-match series as the second Test ended inside five sessions.

Visiting India thus completed a remarkable comeback after losing the first Test in Centurion by an innings and 32 runs.

Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah finished with excellent figures of 6/61 as India bowled South Africa out for 176 to set themselves a target of 79, after Aiden Markram had struck a magnificent, counterattacking 106 off 103 balls before lunch.

The hosts completed the chase in the second session with skipper Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer remaining not out on 17 and 4 respectively. This is the shortest Test match ever in terms of overs bowled, bettering the previous best that involved Australia and South Africa at the MCG way back in 1932. A total of 106.2 overs were bowled in the match.

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