South Africa lose trust and wickets on unpredictable surface as they get Bumrah-ed in spectacular fashion.
The gauntlet at Eden Gardens was set down with just three balls. Aiden Markram and Rishabh Pant both died on the Test’s second ball, which swung late and slid away for four byes. The third ball then kissed Markram’s bat’s splice after spitting up off a length. How would the following three respond? And those that come after? South Africa understood they would spend the innings speculating because those questions were asked so early.
As a result, South Africa faced the difficulty they had anticipated, but in the form of uneven bounce rather than the circumstances they had anticipated. Given the wounds from 2015 in particular, South Africa had spent the most of their preparation talking about spin, and they felt that their recent victories in Bangladesh and Pakistan demonstrated that they were prepared to handle that. Were they prepared for India, though? Were they prepared for the intensity and quality of their assault?
Maybe at first. Markram fought through what Prince described as the “best nought off 22 balls that I’ve ever seen, in terms of his positions and his movement,” while Ryan Rickelton shown good intent up front. Even though Markram wasn’t really sure what to do, he ultimately made the right choice and kept his off stump intact when he left a Mohammed Siraj ball that shaped back. After that, he discovered his timing, and he scored his first runs with a couple of superb straight drives.
After ten overs, South Africa would have been content at 57 without a loss and would have even forgotten the threat posed by a prolonged Jasprit Bumrah spell. However, any sense of comfort would have vanished when Rickelton played down the incorrect line and was bowled by Bumrah in his sixth over.
And when Bumrah found that additional bounce again in his seventh over and took the shoulder of Markram’s bat as he attempted to fend it off, all chance that Markram’s diligence would pave the way for a lengthy innings vanished.
Following lunch, Bumrah and Kuldeep worked together to create a pressure cooker from which South Africa was unable to escape. Then, as Prince put it, Siraj “found his rhythm and his lines” with a change of ends. Prince was cautious not to judge Wiaan Mulder’s reverse sweep too harshly, but it is the one shot decision that can be scrutinised.
The comeback of Tristan Stubbs, who was undefeated on 15 off 74 balls and spent four minutes short of two hours essentially doing nothing, was the clearest example of the ambiguity about how to score runs.
Given that wickets were falling, should he have taken such a defensive stance? Perhaps it’s best to keep in mind that Stubbs hasn’t achieved a Test fifty in the previous home summer and has had a difficult 2025 in all formats. It will clarify why he was so cautious in attempting to maintain his position, but it doesn’t mean he shouldn’t give it another look.
They must keep in mind that they will also have to contend with the calibre of India’s attack, which can take advantage of the circumstances to make things twice as challenging.