India in position to win despite debate over pitch

1.2163540-3840131464 — Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane plays a shot during the third day of the third test match between South Africa and India. Image Credit: AFP

Johannesburg: Play was stopped early on Friday in the third Test between South Africa and India amid a debate over whether the pitch is too dangerous to play on.

The move came after South Africa opening batsman Dean Elgar was hit on the helmet by a delivery from India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah in the ninth over of South Africa’s second innings late on Friday afternoon.

As Elgar received treatment, the umpires came together and then match referee Andy Pycroft came out onto the field to talk with them. The players were then directed to leave the field.

The blow to Elgar’s helmet came after he was hit on the right hand, and then in the midriff.

Speculation was rife throughout the third day’s play at the Wanderers in Johannesburg that the pitch, fast and bouncy but also unpredictable because of large cracks, might be deemed dangerous for batsmen.

A meeting was ongoing to decide wether to continue with the Test on Saturday and a decision whether to continue with the Test will be made on Saturday morning.

“It was challenging. The wicket was similar for both teams. It was completely same for everyone. Our approach is that we want to play and we want to win this Test match,” said India’s Ajinkya Rahane.

It would only be the third time in test cricket history if the a match was to be called off for dangerous conditions.

A test between West Indies and England was abandoned because of a dangerous pitch in Jamaica in 1998. In 2009, a test between the same two teams was called off in Antigua because of a dangerous outfield.

At the Wanderers, South Africa were 17-1, chasing 241 to win the Test.

Elgar was one of a number of batsmen to be hit, but India batted through most of the day and played on through speculation that there was a problem with the pitch.

There were also comments from former players that the pitch was a problem.

Michael Holding, the former West Indies fast bowler and test great who is working as a television commentator at the Wanderers, said the game should have been called off for a dangerous pitch and used an expletive to describe it.

“They should have called it off when Vijay got hit,” Holding told the cricinfo.com website. “This is not a cricket pitch, this is dangerous. Call it off, forget it. You can’t play cricket on that. I have no idea what has gone wrong but I know it’s not a good cricket pitch.”

Holding’s opinion that the pitch was dangerous was echoed by former South Africa captain Kepler Wessels, also working as a commentator.

“The unfortunate thing is that nobody minds movement off the surface but it’s the uneven bounce that’s the problem and it is quite dangerous from a batting point of view when you have pace attacks bowling around the 140kph mark, tall bowlers hitting the deck hard. It is dangerous and it’s not ideal.”

The pitch clearly was a topic of discussion for the umpires, too, who met in the middle after Vijay’s dismissal in the first session and again midway through the second session. Also, there was another conversation between on-field umpires Ian Gould and Aleem Dar and the two senior members of the Wanderers ground staff as players came off the field for the lunch break. The focus appeared to be on those cracked areas, which were causing the ball to bounce and change direction unpredictably and at high pace.

Scorecard

India, first innings, 187

South Africa, first innings, 194

India, second innings

(overnight 49-1)

M. Vijay b Rabada 25

P. Patel c Markram b Philander 16

L. Rahul c Du Plessis b Philander 16

C. Pujara c Du Plessis b Morkel 1

V. Kohli b Rabada 41

A. Rahane c De Kock b Morkel 48

H. Pandya c and b Rabada 4