South Africa vs India 2018: Quinton de Kock's clueless handling of Mohammed Shami is SK Play of the Day
Resuming at 90/2, AB de Villiers and Dean Elgar continued to bat positively to help South Africa surge ahead at the start of the fourth day's play in Centurion. When the game appeared to be slipping away from India, Mohammed Shami produced a terrific spell to enable his team to find a way back in the contest.
Despite possessing the best Test record among all the current Indian pacers, Shami's lethargic effort up until that point meant that he had to wait for some time before getting the ball in his hands. When he was eventually summoned to bowl, the 27-year old showed his prowess by dismissing de Villiers with an unplayable delivery. He proceeded to remove Elgar and ensured that India's spirits were lifted.
What followed was a stunning display of bowling from the right-arm pacer. Having just walked into the crease, Quinton de Kock showed no match awareness whatsoever and played loosely outside off-stump. When India's inexplicably placed slip cordon failed to latch on to three successive edges, Shami persisted and dismissed the wicket-keeper batsman off the fourth delivery of the 48th over.
Iffy cordon reprieves de Kock
Batting on a pair, de Kock flashed hard at the second delivery that he faced in this innings. The thick outside edge evaded the sprawling hands of Rohit Sharma who was placed widely at slip. The ball raced off the turf to reach the boundary rope.
With the ball beginning to show a hint of reverse swing, Shami produced a peach of a delivery to square up de Kock. However, wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel could not adjust accordingly following his initial trigger movement on the right. The ball escaped his diving hands and sailed past his left to trickle over the boundary. Shami could not do much apart from sporting a wry smile at the lucky batsman.
Sensing the left-hander's struggles, India added another slip to their cordon. Continuing to target the back of length area, Shami induced yet another edge off de Kock. But the ball did not carry this time around. The southpaw had registered his third successive boundary in the third man region.
Fired-up Shami has the last laugh
Maintaining his emphasis on the back of length zone, Shami went closer to the bat on this occasion. With the vagaries of the surface as well as a semblance of reverse swing coming into play, the ball came in a fraction and opened up de Kock.
The 25-year old's lack of footwork and tendency to play away from his body proved to be his undoing. His luck ran out too as the ball carried at the perfect height for Parthiv to complete a comfortable catch. When he could have easily let his shoulders drop after watching the events of the previous three deliveries, Shami received due reward for his admirable persistence.
Although he tried to hide the frustration of his clueless stay in the middle, de Kock's agony boiled ever as he entered the dressing room. The left-hander was seen wildly waving his bat at thin air in palpable anger. While it remains to be seen if Shami's pre-lunch spell has a decisive impact on the game, the lion-hearted fast bowler has certainly provided India with a chance to hit back at the Proteas.