IND vs SA: 1st Test – Rohit, Mayank put India in command on Day 1
India got off their home season of to the best possible start with a commanding performance on Day 1 of the Visakhapatnam Test against South Africa. The biggest concern for the team management – the opening partnership at the top was brilliantly addressed by the skills and verve of Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal. India ended the day on 202-0 with the final session being washed out due to thunderstorms in Vizag. But the Test match already seems beyond the reach of the visitors with a formidable batting unit only getting started. While Rohit with a ton and Mayank with a half-century dominated proceedings, the Proteas looked flat on the field with their bowlers largely underwhelming. Approaching Day 2, they will have to up their performance by leaps and bounds to have even remote hopes of staying competitive in the contest.
Check out the full scorecard here
Rohit makes a statement of intent
When it was announced prior to the series that Rohit Sharma would be tried out as an opener in Test cricket, it set the world on fire. Debates started to rage on. His detractors pointed out that exploits in white-ball cricket at the top of the order notwithstanding, Test cricket was a different ball game altogether. His supporters claimed that a staggering record in the shorter formats merited a Test selection and he was the best option available considering the failure of the alternatives. Needless to say, he needed a steady start to his career as a Test opener. That’s exactly what he did.
He was watchful at the start of the innings. Nothing troubled him much, except a misjudgement of the line of a Philander delivery. That ball almost hit the stumps as Rohit opted to leave, but it acted as a wakeup call to the opener. After a circumspect start, Rohit soon hit his strides. As the spinners came on to bowl, he unleashed his whole array of strokes. Rohit then started to motor around, treating it very much as an ODI game. There was a rush of blood when he was almost dismissed attempting a sweep shot when he reached his 50. But apart from that, it was serene going for the Hitman. As he got closer to the 3 figure mark, he upped the scoring rate, reminiscent of the days of Virender Sehwag. Two lusty blows off the bowling of Piedt and he was into the nineties.
Finally, when he reached the landmark, there was an inner calm in his celebrations. Nothing outrageous. He had waited for this moment for a long time. Hitman 2.0 in the Test arena had finally loaded.
Mayank lends a helping hand
Such is the brilliance of Rohit when in full flow, that people often tend to overlook other vital contributions. One simply cannot look past Mayank Agarwal’s efforts on the opening day of the match though. After the trials and tribulations of overseas tours, Mayank finally got an opportunity to cash in on flat home pitches. And cash in he did.
Not brimming with flair as much as his new opening partner, Mayank though put the bad deliveries away. He too saw the new ball through and regularly rotated the strike not leaving his partner at the other end frustrated. Years of toiling in domestic cricket have surely made Mayank realize that runs have their weight in gold at the international arena. Unbeaten on 84, he will now look to get his maiden century for India when play resumes on Day 2.
A flat showing from the visitors
The South African bowlers too played a big part in the Indian openers dominating the day. They lacked penetration, both in the pace and the spin department. The spinners especially were guilty of not extracting more help from what already looks like a sluggish wicket. Instead of giving the ball a good old rip, they ended up undercutting it. This meant that the ball slided into the batsmen which was much easier to negotiate with. They seem to lack the quality of troubling the Indian batters unless the surface is a rank turner. With their display on Day 1 of the series, it could well end up being a long and arduous tour for the visitors.
