'Wanted India to grovel': South Africa coach on delayed declaration
What's the story
South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad has revealed the intention behind batting deep in the ongoing 2nd Test against India in Guwahati. The Proteas, who didn't give India the follow-on, batted in the second innings and extended their lead past 540. India, chasing 549, were two wickets down before stumps. After the day's play, Conrad stated that the Proteas wanted India to stay on the field for longer than they would have preferred.
Tactical approach
South Africa's strategy to tire Indian players
Conrad explained that the team wanted to exploit the new ball in the morning and keep India on their feet for as long as possible. He said, "We obviously looked at how best we were going to use the new ball, because in the morning we still wanted a newish, hardish ball." The coach also emphasized his team's intention to bat them out of contention completely.
Game plan
South Africa's declaration strategy
Having scored 489, SA had a 314-run lead on the third evening. They didn't enforce the follow-on and returned unscathed at stumps (26/0). On Day 4, SA allowed their batters some time before declaring in the final session (260/5). Conrad further explained that SA didn't want to miss out on using the new ball in the evening when shadows intervened. He said, "We wanted them to really grovel, to steal a phrase, bat them completely out of the game."
Bowling strategy
Faith in spin attack
Conrad has faith in his spin attack to exploit the surface's good bounce and "consistent turn." He said, "Hopefully, Marco Jansen and the spinners can do the job tomorrow. We're going to give it our best shot." Despite having a third seamer missing, Conrad is confident about his team's chances against India on this surface, which he admitted had "stayed remarkably good" for batting.
Series perspective
South Africa eye historic series win
With two wickets down, India are staring at another defeat in the two-match series. They lost openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul, having sent in nightwatchman Kuldeep Yadav. Notably, South Africa are vying for their first Test series win in India since 2000. Before this series, they hadn't even won a Test match in the nation since 2010.