"The way Elgar batted, he kept getting beaten; you need that sort of luck as well" - R Ashwin on 'different' Wanderers pitch
India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin has admitted that the Wanderers pitch was two-paced and quickened up as the game progressed.
After skittling out the hosts for 202, South Africa finished the opening day on 35 for 1. 35-year-old Ashwin looked the most comfortable of the Indian batters as he smashed a counter-attacking 46 off 50 balls to help his side cross the 200-run mark.
Runs came at a premium on the track, which Ashwin conceded is atypical of the Wanderers.
“I just felt the pitch was a little two-paced. Generally Wanderers has that tendency to start a bit slow and then start getting a bit quicker. It did quicken up a bit but it just feels a little different to a typical Wanderers pitch. So we’ll have to wait and see how it responds tomorrow – does it quicken up, does it continue to be two-paced, will the cracks open up – that’s something we can only judge at the end of the game,” Ravichandran Ashwin said at the post-day press conference.
Stand-in skipper KL Rahul once again flourished, top-scoring with a gritty 50 off 133 balls. But the Indian thinktank would be concerned about the yet-again low scores of Cheteshwar Pujara (3 off 33) and Ajinkya Rahane (0 off 1).
Asked if it was ideal to stay upright on a track which had deliveries rising from length, Ashwin stated not every batter will play the same way. However, he added that one could certainly do with a little bit of luck.
“With respect to staying upright or staying low, every batsman is different right and you will have to skin the cat the way you feel it. I think, when you go into bat, you also need that bit of luck to go your way – the way Elgar batted, he kept getting beaten – so you need that sort of a luck as well. I thought there was a very earnest attempt in terms of how we went about our business, but some of those dismissals do happen,” Ashwin elaborated.
Mohammad Shami snuffed out Aiden Markram for 7 off 12 deliveries, before skipper Dean Elgar (11 off 57) and Keegan Petersen (14 off 39) took their side unscathed into Day 2.
“Marco Jansen bowled really well in the last couple of innings” – Ravichandran Ashwin
Left-arm seam has often troubled Indian batters. 21-year-old Marco Jansen – who made his debut in the first Test - has held sway over the tourists in the last two innings, having picked up consecutive four-wicket hauls.
Ravichandran Ashwin was effusive in his praise of Jansen. Acknowledging his height advantage, the off-spinner highlighted the way the left-armer bounced back from being jittery in his maiden innings to now having 9 wickets in his kitty.
“He’s special, he’s 6’8", he’s got a bit of height, he’s got a bit of skill, he’s got a nice action, he gets close to the stumps with a quick side-on action. Whatever said and done, it’s not like somebody does a role in the nets and you can go out there and immediately sort it out. At the end of the day, all seamers have got wickets – Shami has got 9 wickets, Bumrah has got 8 odd wickets, Rabada has got wickets, Marco Jansen has also got wickets.
“It is South Africa, you expect quicks to get wickets, and to be overawed or to be over-cautious about anything is not worth it, you just go out and play the game. I thought he bowled well – first innings, I think he had a bit of nerves and he bowled really well in the last couple of innings,” Ashwin said in response to a Sportskeeda query.
India have never lost a Test in Johannesburg, and if the quicks can secure a first-innings lead, Virat Kohli’s boys would be well on course for their first-ever Test series win in the rainbow nation.