Cape Town: South Africa skipper Faf Du Plessis on Monday said that he was a bit surprised with India’s decision to field Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah ahead of Ajinkya Rahane in the first test which his side won by 72 runs in Cape Town.
“We didn’t think Bumrah would play. We know he’s done really well in one-day cricket, but we were preparing more for the other seamers because they’ve played a lot of Tests. The other guy was Rohit ahead of Rahane. He’s been in a bit of form one-day cricket wise, so they’re probably just running with that. Apart from that, we made sure we looked at all other guys,” said Du Plessis after South Africa secured a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
The Proteas too had went into the match with one less batsman, with four pacers and one spinner in the form of Keshav Maharaj. But Du Plessis felt that the risk was worth taking.
“The decision of picking a team was definitely the hardest I have been involved in. Playing seven batters on a pitch that offers a bit more seam is a very good call. But I just thought if you have Steyn, Morkel, Philander, Rabada – that’s four bowlers — you can’t look past,” he said.
The hosts had asked for a pitch which would assist seam bowling and it was used to good effect by the Indian pacers, dismissing the batting heavy side for just 130 runs, setting a 208-run target.
Accepting the fact that he was nervous, defending 208 against India who have a fancied batting line up, the Proteas skipper said that the new ball would always be the key for them.
“We expected that first hour to be tough. But we knew if we could get through that — our assessment of the pitch was that it would speed up. That was a great contest between bat and ball. India would be the first to say it wasn’t ridiculously sporting,” said Du Plessis.
“I knew the new ball was going to be key for us and that if we got wickets with the new ball, we can get through their batting line-up. They’ve got a few quality players in there but once you can put a bit of pressure on them, I thought we can get through them. I came here this morning hoping to get a 350 lead and bowl to them tonight, so obviously that didn’t go to plan.”
He also showered praise on Vernon Philander for his match-winning figures of 6/42, which totally floored India.
“If there’s something in the wicket, he’s as good as you get around the world. What impressed me most today was he wanted to bowl overs. He didn’t say after three or four overs ‘that’s enough’. He wanted the ball and he wanted to make a plan, that’s all you ask for from a senior player’s point of view.”
Keeping Kohli quiet was crucial
Man of the match Philander revealed that an important part of their plans was to keep the Indian skipper, Virat Kohli quiet.
“Virat is an aggressive player and the key is to keep him quiet and make sure you set him up for the other one. Initially, it was for me to keep him quiet, and I always knew I had the opportunity coming back,” said the burly paceman, who trapped Kohli right in front with a delivery that cut in sharply.