Ken Borland

South Africa’s four-pronged fast bowling attack snuffed out India’s batsmen in two-and-a-half sessions on the first day of the second Test at the Wanderers on Monday, but then the Proteas own top-order weaknesses were put through a strenuous examination by the tourists’ powerful pace trio.

India, having won the toss and batted, were bowled out for 202 as Marco Jansen took 4/31 and Kagiso Rabada and Duanne Olivier claimed the other six wickets.

South Africa then reached 35/1 at stumps, with Aiden Markram failing again as he was trapped lbw by Mohammed Shami for seven. It meant Keegan Petersen (14*) again came to the crease inside the first five overs, but he did well to survive to the close with captain Dean Elgar (11*).

The Proteas again made a slow start with the new ball as India openers Lokesh Rahul and Mayank Agarwal put on 36 in the first hour. It was Lungi Ngidi who created the first feelings of pressure with two maidens in his first four overs and Jansen reaped the benefits as he had Agarwal caught behind for 26 with the first ball after morning drinks.

Olivier produced a fiery second spell that saw him remove Cheteshwar Pujara (3) and Ajinkya Rahane (0) with successive deliveries as India stumbled to lunch on 53/3.

Opener Rahul, captaining India for the first time in the absence of Virat Kohli, who withdrew just before the toss due to back problems, seems to have batted for weeks in this series already, and, following his crucial century in the first Test, he occupied the crease for three-and-a-half hours on Monday, scoring 50 before he was athletically caught by Rabada at the fine leg boundary off Jansen.

Rassie van der Dussen also took a spectacular one-handed catch at short-leg to remove Hanuma Vihari for 20 off Rabada.

A fiery 46 off 50 balls by Ravichandran Ashwin lifted India to respectability, but the rest of the Proteas pacemen were just too hot for the batsmen.

Markram seems to have lost his old technical assurance against the new ball as he planted the front leg and tried to play what was basically a straight ball from Shami far too square on the leg-side.

But Elgar was playing with his usual defiant composure and sensible shot-selection as he withstood 57 deliveries, and Petersen also looked focused for 39 balls, except when he slashed at Jasprit Bumrah when he had 12 and was fortunate to be dropped by wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, high to his right.

India suffered a blow when Mohammed Siraj hobbled from the field in the penultimate over, clutching his hamstring.

Proteas captain Dean Elgar has been urging his players, comprehensively beaten in the first Test last week and then shocked by Quinton de Kock’s retirement, to lift themselves up and toughen up mentally for the second Test against India which starts at the Wanderers on Monday.

While one new face is definite, Kyle Verreynne replacing De Kock behind the stumps, Elgar said other changes were also being discussed. But any alterations are likely to be minor as the captain made it clear on Sunday that he still backs his players and they have to find it within themselves to simply be better in the crucial second Test.

“There’s no need to panic, we have a lot of capable players, even if some of them are inexperienced, and they need to take responsibility,” Elgar said. “It’s extremely important to back them, that’s how you build and grow a team.

“They’re not suddenly bad players, they just need to be mentally more switched on. They need to understand Test cricket is bloody tough. It’s a harsh environment and you need to ask yourself tough questions and then respond.

“The batsmen are up against some of the best bowlers in the world now and they need to put on their big-boy pants. I can talk and talk, but we need to see a reaction now, otherwise the talk is cheap.

“We’ve had quite a few setbacks in recent times, these are just another couple that we need to get over and be clever around. We have to get over it and move on,” Elgar said.

It seems certain that South Africa are not going to sacrifice spinner Keshav Maharaj in order to play an extra batsman or pace bowler either.

“I think the Wanderers pitch will play a lot better than it has recently, it’s going to be more batsmen-friendly, a better cricket wicket. But the batsmen have to put their hands up and take responsibility.

“Sometimes you choose an attack based on horses-for-courses, but Kesh is very adaptable, a very smart cricketer whose record speaks for itself. I always favour having a frontline spinner.

“Being a left-arm spinner to 10 right-handers in the Indian batting line-up, that’s something to utilise. Tactically we need to be much better and Kesh has an extremely big role to play in this series.

“With the conditions as they are now, I would think Kesh is going to play. He stabilises our bowling, I know I can throw the ball to him and he will keep down the run-rate. He gives us better options,” Elgar said.

It was in December 2013 ahead of a Test against India at the Wanderers that former Proteas coach Russell Domingo spoke about the DNA of South African and Indian teams and how pace bowling was the strength of the home side and the weakness of the subcontinent team.

“They have always had issues playing pace in South Africa and that is what history shows. It is a South African strength. It is the way that we were brought up playing cricket,” Domingo said.

“Subcontinent sides will always turn to spin and South Africans will turn to pace because that is in our DNA. Having a four-pronged pace attack is important for us against a country like India in our conditions.”

An epic Test match followed in which India dominated the South African bowling, Virat Kohli scoring 119 and 96 and Cheteshwar Pujara confirming his pedigree as a special player with 153, his first century overseas. An incredible final innings saw the Proteas flirt with chasing down 458, before settling for a noble draw on 450/7.

Although South Africa then won in Durban to win the two-match series, India had shown they were on the brink of rustling up a pace attack fit to compare with any in the world. When they returned to the Wanderers in 2018, they beat the Proteas by 63 runs with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami both getting five-wicket hauls.

Now the tourists are back at a venue where South Africa have not been able to beat them in five attempts, India actually winning at the Bullring in 2006 and 2018. And India showed in the first Test at Centurion just how wonderful their current pace attack is, and it is the Proteas batsmen who have the issues trying to handle the heat.

Out-bowled as well as out-batted at SuperSport Park, South Africa may well consider playing an all-pace attack at the Wanderers; with Quinton de Kock already having to be replaced, Duanne Olivier coming in for spinner Keshav Maharaj as the only change would be the least disruptive selection.

But Maharaj, even though he is not a broad-chested alpha-male in the mould of a Graeme Smith or Jacques Kallis, is an important leader in the team and captain Dean Elgar has spoken of his reluctance not to have him in his XI.

As much as Marco Jansen has shown he can deliver useful runs as a batsman, No.7 is surely too high for him at this fledgling stage of his career. So South Africa will have to choose between having four frontline seamers and an all-rounder (Wiaan Mulder) at 7, three specialist pacemen, a spinner and an all-rounder, or just four bowlers, including Maharaj, and an extra specialist batsman.

Needing to deliver a win at the Wanderers to maintain their hopes of winning the series, the Proteas should perhaps put the responsibility of bowling much better than they did on the first day of the first Test, and getting 20 wickets, on four bowlers and thereby strengthening the fragile batting with someone like Ryan Rickelton coming in at No.7.

Kyle Verreynne is likely to replace De Kock at No.6 and the uncapped Rickelton, who is a top-order batsman for the Central Gauteng Lions, has scored centuries in his previous two innings at the Wanderers.

Prices will have to be paid for another Proteas’ batting failure as South Africa look to stay alive in the series when the second Test against India starts at the Wanderers on Monday, their batting line-up being further weakened by the absence of Quinton de Kock.

The wicketkeeper was always going to miss the New Years Test as well as the final match of the series due to the birth of his first child, but then rocked the Proteas camp even further by announcing his retirement from all Test cricket on Thursday evening, just hours after South Africa had lost the first Test by 113 runs.

Kyle Verreynne is the most likely replacement for De Kock, although Ryan Rickelton has the advantage of playing on his home ground and being in red-hot form with two centuries in his last two innings at the Wanderers.

There is a chance that both could play if the Proteas decide to go into the match with just four frontline bowlers, replacing Wiaan Mulder with a specialist batsman. The all-rounder has done a solid job with the ball, but he has made just 106 runs in eight innings this year. South Africa need more from their No.7.

Keshav Maharaj is indisputably South Africa’s No.1 spinner and one of the senior players, but he was unused in the Indian second innings at Centurion and went wicketless in 18 overs on the first day. If the Wanderers pitch is similar – and it has certainly given the pacemen plenty of assistance so far this summer – then the Proteas will be tempted to leave Maharaj out and play an all-seam attack with Duanne Olivier joining left-armer Marco Jansen, who took four wickets in the Indian second innings and also showed enough gumption with the bat to do well at No.8.

Captain Dean Elgar paid a massive compliment to Jansen after the first Test and he also supported the suggestion that Keegan Petersen, who has scored just 76 runs in his five Test innings but in all of them he has come to the crease with less than five runs on the board, drop down the order.

“We’ll definitely look into the all-rounder position,” Elgar said. “Wiaan has been pretty good with the ball but obviously has not lived up to the standards he has set himself with the bat.

“So we’ll be having the sort of open conversations we need to have in this environment. I thought Marco was our player of the game and had a brilliant debut. But carrying two all-rounders is maybe not ideal.

“It’s a valid point about Keegan dropping down the order and that’s also a conversation we’ll have. We could potentially exercise that option, it’s not a bad idea to give him better opportunity against the older ball.

“He’s played three Tests and they’ve all been in relatively tough batting conditions. It’s been a rough start to his career but it doesn’t reflect on him as a player. He is extremely talented, he’s been one of our best domestically for a few years,” Elgar said.