Having taken a break from the white-ball matches, Rohit Sharma aimed the Test series against India as the “final frontier” for Team India to conquer in Test cricket.
However, an hour into Day 3 of the game, that dream was looking diminished, and by the end of the day, it was confirmed that India will once again – for the third time in three tours since 2018 with what is arguably India’s greatest Test unit – got without a series win from South Africa.
Skipper Rohit Sharma had a terrible time in the middle with the bat – not that he had much of it – as he managed scores of only 5 and 0, both times dismissed by Kagiso Rabada.
While Rohit got a peach of a delivery in the second innings – angled in and seaming just away to beat the outside edge but thunder into the off-stump – he got out to a pull shot, caught at deep fine leg, in the first innings.
While the pull/hook shots are staple shots for Rohit in white-ball cricket, in Test cricket in recent times, that has brought his downfall. In his last 20 innings away from home, Rohit has got out to the pull/hook shot 7 times.
The second match will start on January 3 in Newlands, Cape Town. Although India can’t win the series, they have plenty to play for in the 2nd game.
Other than looking to level the series, there are also WTC points at stake for India. India have slipped to the 6th position in the WTC points table.
IND vs SA: What are the stats and numbers of Rohit Sharma in Cape Town?
Rohit Sharma has played only one Test match in his career at Newlands, Cape Town, on the 2018 tour. He managed scores of 11 and 10 in that game. He was dismissed by Rabada and Philander in that match.
Rohit has really poor numbers in South Africa in Test cricket: in 5 Tests, he averages only 12 here, with a highest score of 47,
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