The evening was balmy, even mildly chilly. But the audience had disposed of their jumpers and windbreakers long ago; a sweaty suspense had gripped them in the intense see-sawing game, which is replete with possibilities and could potentially experience another wild twist on Sunday.
The day might not have unfolded as they wished. When they started from their homes to the Eden pilgrimage, navigating chaotic traffic, they would have wished for a Rishabh Pant masterpiece or a Shubman Gill masterclass. But it turned out to be a day for the sensationalists. A cluster of wickets, of suboptimal theatrics, the red ball swaying erratically like a punch-drunk alcoholic, and a few lusty blows in between to keep the match on a knife-edge.
The hosts, after eking out a 30-run lead, valuable in the context of the low-scoring affair, and then twisting the knife on South Africa, reeling on the mat at 93 for 7, would feel a sense of ascendancy. But the stage is no stranger to miracles and fairy tales.
Ironically, the day woke up to the slow riffs of throwback Test cricket, with KL Rahul and Washington Sundar batting defiantly to quieten the devils of the pitch. The first session yielded 38 runs off 14 overs, but the harum scarum pattern of the match would soon assume a congruous shape. From 109/2, India were wrapped up for 189, the toughest blow being the injured captain, Shubman Gill.
But the shock of the meltdown did not weigh India down on the field. They bounded out of their straps with belief and energy. If Simon Harmer and Co could inflict such damning damage, so could their stable of spinners. Every bowler looked longingly at Pant, pleading with their eyes if they could get an over or two. Pant would smile beatifically and contain their enthusiasm.
Jasprit Bumrah, inevitably, began the proceedings. Axar Patel shared the new ball, but on a wicked strip, he couldn’t have kept Ravindra Jadeja out for long, the third-fourth innings horseman of apocalypse. He likes taming the wild horses in his Jamnagar stable; he likes subduing angry pitches, too. He is skilled enough to thrive on any surface, but furnish him a crumbling surface, he would latch onto it with glee.
From the ninth to the 35th, the last over of the game, he preserved his end, snaring four wickets for 29 runs in a routine but high-class exhibition of spin bowling. It wasn’t merely him pounding the spots, some kicking up grey plumes of dust, but confusing him with different angles, pace, and degree of turn. He let a few balls rip and spit past the right-hander’s outside edge. Some balls turned square, some jumped, forcing Pant to gather them chest high. He would then push the ball faster through the air and let the skid through, leaving the batsmen in a mind-bend.
He struck with the second ball, Aiden Markram toe-ending a weird sweep, where his front leg was barely bent. He beat Wiaan Mulder with a brute that pitched on the leg stump and swooshed past the off-stump. In such moments, batsmen could simply curse or thank their stars. Mulder soon realised the vicissitudes of his preoccupation. Jadeja’s ball burst off the surface like when you prick a water balloon. A similar ball devoured Toni de Zorzi. In the space of four balls, the visitors tottered to 40 for 4.
But for Temba Bavuma’s stoic resistance, a 29 chiselled from pure granite, they would have been in a hole deeper than some of the crevices on the sidewalk of the city in love with its crumbling past. His defiance has given South Africa a glimmer of hope. So said Simon Harmer: “If we could add a few more runs, there would be nothing like if we could touch 150, we would have something to bowl at. We have the work cut out.”
He also produced a stat: “Only once has a team successfully chased a hundred plus total here.” He had done his homework, but Morne Morkel, India’s bowling coach, says India would not be losing sleep over the target they would be tasked to chase. But their batsmen would be dwelling on their approach, whether to attack like Pant did, or grit out like Bavuma did. Morkel pegs it to individual choice.
“We have to play attacking cricket as a batter and convert loose balls, and keep an attacking mindset. Can’t have a defensive mindset because you’re never in. When you know there’s something in it for the bowlers, you can get carried away by the thought of bowling some magic balls. Patience is key. If we can keep them under 125, it should be chaseable.
Chasing would be arduous, Harmer warned. “Who knows, we would be sitting here after bowling out India for 80-odd?” he asked, chuckling. Their Sunday could be a short trip to Eden for the pilgrims, but the long evening could be one of celebration or mourning.
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