Lesson 101 of Day 1 batting at Centurion, or for that matter any place where facing fast bowling can be an exacting prospect, is to tighten the defence and take the lumps till runs start trickling in at an acceptable rate. Shardul Thakur wasn't exactly pulling it off as elegantly as KL Rahul or Virat Kohli but it was worthwhile nevertheless.
But a cursory glance at India's total of 208/8 at stumps will tell you not everybody treaded that line of caution at Centurion. Sure there was a surging burst from Kagiso Rabada that removed the free-flowing Shreyas Iyer and Virat Kohli within a space of five overs, dovetailed with the debuting Nandre Burger's inspired dismissal of Yashasvi Jaiswal that triggered the denouement of India's innings, but there is a lingering feeling of what could have been if the approach was more disciplined.
"As a batting group, it was always going to be a challenging surface," said India batting coach Vikram Rathour after bad light forced early close of play.
"The wicket was undercover for a day. We would have loved to have a couple of more wickets in hand at the end of the day but we have done reasonably well. We have runs on the board."
This story is from the December 27, 2023 edition of Hindustan Times.
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This story is from the December 27, 2023 edition of Hindustan Times.
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