Short And Sweet! Newlands To Conquer

Bumrah claims 6/61 to help India win the shortest Test ever and draw series 1-1 against South Africa

- Ashish Magotra

In the shortest Test of all time, India had to get everything right and with the exception of a ll-ball blackout on Day 1, one can argue they did exactly that to level the series 1-1 and claim their first ever victory at Cape Town.

The match lasted a mere 642 deliveries-partly due to the dramatic movement pacers extracted from the wicket and partly due to the technique of the modern batters - and there will be questions asked about the pitch but in such conditions, every mistake has the potential of being amplified many times over. Just because you are ahead doesn't mean it would stay that way.

And that is why as Day 2 of the second Test at Cape Town began, India were on high alert. South Africa were trailing by 36 runs with six second-innings wickets in hand but given the collapses witnessed on the first day, it was important to finish their innings off as quickly as possible.

Sharma may have been worried but he didn't really have to because Jasprit Bumrah was on hand to allay the fears of his skipper with a brilliant spell of bowling.

Just six balls into the morning session, he sent back David Bedingham (11). A little later, Kyle Verreynne (9) went for an ill-advised pull shot to give Bumrah his second wicket of the morning. And the Indian pacer added to the misery of the home side by sending back Marco Jansen (11).

Suddenly, despite Aiden Markram looking like he was batting on a different pitch, the South Africa innings was in danger of being wrapped up very quickly. But this is perhaps where India missed a trick.

While Bumrah was doing his thing, Rohit employed Mukesh Kumar from the other end whereas the first innings star, Mohammed Siraj was fresh and ready to go.