Indian captain Rohit Sharma did most things right as team captain in the ongoing second Test against South Africa. The final match of the series between the teams will take place at Newlands Park in Cape Town, where wickets fell in a jiffy.
Rohit Sharma made some brilliant bowling changes in the game, which was one of the main reasons why India has been on top. But on the morning of Day 2, he seemed a little confused after Aiden Markam took the Indian players to the cleaners.
Rohit Sharma seemed to find it difficult to prepare the field for Aiden Markam. During the start of the afternoon innings on Day 2, when the batsman was playing with an attacking approach, he was seen asking the Indian captain for suggestions from the previous captain, Virat Kohli.
In the video that has gone viral on the Internet, Rohit Sharma can be heard asking Virat Kohli: “Iske liye gully rakhu ya teesra rakhu” (Should I stick with gully or third man for Aiden Markam)?
Here is the video:
Rohit asking Virat Kohli
“For this, stick with Gully or Teesra.” pic.twitter.com/eVCvTcG8Se—` (@musafir_tha_yr) January 4, 2024
The fielding position set by Rohit Sharma for Aiden Markram didn’t seem to work. South Africa’s first match made the Indian captain look clueless with the kind of innings he played. He put the visitors under tremendous pressure and for a moment it looked like he would take the game away from the opposition.
Aiden Markram held one end as wickets continued to fall at the other. He made sure to get India batting again. The batter first focused on the deficit and once his team took the lead, he attacked the pitchers and smashed them all over the park.
Aiden Markam raced towards the century with his best score after overcoming Prasidh Krishna. The batsman scored 20 runs in that over and then reached the milestone. He finished with 106 runs off 103 balls, including 17 fours and 2 sixes in his innings. He made sure his players had something to defend.
IND vs SA: Rohit Sharma on the verge of becoming the second Indian skipper to draw a series in South Africa
After Aiden Markam got out, the Indian bowlers took over the South African tail quickly. Jasprit Bumrah picked up 6 wickets while Mukesh Kumar bagged two scalps. Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj also picked a wicket each as India bowled out South Africa by 176 runs to set a target of 79 runs.
The responsibility of leading his team to glory will now fall on captain Rohit Sharma. The batsman played a vital hand of 39 runs in the first innings and would hope to play a similar kind of knock this time around. He will hold the key for the team in the chase and needs to step up if India is to win.
If India chases the target of 79 runs, Rohit Sharma will become the second Indian skipper to draw a series in South Africa, joining MS Dhoni who achieved the feat during the 2010-11 tour. The series between the teams currently stands at 1-0 with the Proteas leading the way. They beat the visitors by innings and 32 runs in the first game at Centurion.
