South Africa vs India, 2018: 5 game-changing catches put down by India on day 1 of the second Test

Shikhar Dhawan dropped Keshav Maharaj in the first innings of the opening Test match when he had just come out to bat. Maharaj went on to score 35 runs which were invaluable in the context of the match. As it turned out, India lost the match by just 72 runs.

In close fought encounters, holding on to half chances can be the deciding factor between victory and defeat. Despite a couple of run-outs being effected by Indian fielders, they were by and large sloppy when it comes to catching. Let us have a look at 5 dropped catches by India that had the potential of changing the landscape of the match.

Murli Vijay dropped Dean Elgar at fine leg

Dean Elgar was under 20 when he mistimed a bouncer from Jasprit Bumrah. Vijay who was at fine leg could not judge the ball that was coming straight to him. He started running towards the ball. The balls flew over his head and hit the boundary cushion after bouncing once.

As a result, South Africa did not lose any wicket in the first session and went to Lunch with 78-0. If India had drawn first blood before Lunch, they would have come out with a spring in their step in the second session.