"We expected more from the pitch in the morning" - Lungi Ngidi disappointed with the Centurion deck
South African seamer Lungi Ngidi was unimpressed with the unresponsive pitch on day one of the first Test against India at the Centurion. Ngidi said that the lack of swing forced the hosts to change their plans, and focus more on precision and discipline.
The pacer ended up with all three wickets the visitors lost on day one as India dominated reached 272-3 by Stumps. KL Rahul's classy hundred and his opening stand of 117 headlined the tourists' dominance. Meanwhile, Ngidi had to toil for the wickets of Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli.
Stumps on day one in Centurion 🏏
A brilliant day for the visitors!
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Speaking after the day's play, Ngidi expressed his disappointment at the slow pitch, as the margin of error was low. The 25-year old said, as quoted by iol.co.za.
"To be honest, we expected more from the pitch in the morning; I expected more swing, but it didn’t happen, and then we had to change plans. You really have to be accurate with your lengths; if you’re too short, it gives the batters time, but if you’re too full they can drive easily."
South Africa chose Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada to partner Ngidi. Debutant Jansen, the left-arm seamer, was the most expensive bowler on the day with figures of 17-4-61-0, while Ngidi registered 17-4-45-3.
"I got a bit better rhythm bowling from the West Lane End" - Lungi Ngidi
Ngidi also said that he began finding his groove from the West Lane End, hitting the right lengths to trouble the Indian batters. Highlighting the importance of the first session on day two, the Durban-born seamer said:
"I got a bit better rhythm bowling from the West Lane End. and at lunch. I actually asked to be switched to that side. Sometimes you have to be patient because other guys want to have a go from a particular end, but once I got to bowl from that end, I started finding better lengths."
"That first session will be important; everyone must be on their ‘A’ game. If we can get a couple of wickets, we’ll be into their tail. We saw this evening that we were still getting balls beating the outside edge."
KL Rahul remains the crucial wicket for the Proteas on day two. However, will also be wary of the threat of Rishabh Pant and Shardul Thakur.
KL Rahul's magnificent ton helped India take charge on day one against South Africa in Centurion 💪
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With the pitch likely to become quicker as the game progresses, South Africa should fancy their chances.