While speaking about energy levels on air during the game, former India cricketer Ravi Shastri made an interesting pointer
The Indian team needed to find early wickets on Day 3 of the ongoing first Test in Centurion after Dean Elgar and Marco Janses put the Proteas in a comfortable position on Day 2. However, the Rohit Sharma-led side failed to make early inroads and the body language of the Indian players looked lacklustre.
From misfielding to dropped catches, things weren’t going India’s way in the first session on the third day. While speaking about energy levels on air during the game, former India cricketer Ravi Shastri made an interesting pointer. He highlighted a key difference between wicketkeepers KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant.
While KL Rahul is more of a calm personality, Pant would be extremely active behind the stumps sledging batters and passing remarks and never letting a batter settle down completely. When asked if Shastri would send a message to someone like Rahul to be more vocal, he said on air, “I didn’t have to send any message to Rishabh Pant. He was quite chirpy”.
Despite not much luck early on, India finally made a breakthrough as Shardul Thakur got the important scalp of Dean Elgar just prior to the lunch break. Elgar had been in fantastic form, scoring a majestic 185 runs and guiding the Proteas to a comfortable position. Thakur’s hard work was soon complimented by Ravichandran Ashwin who got the scalp of Gerald Coetzee to send the Proteas pacer back to the hut cheaply for 19.
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With the two quick wickets, the momentum has once again shifted in favour of the Indians as they will now look to clean the hosts up as quickly as possible post-lunch. Currently, South Africa has a 147 runs lead in the first innings.
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