India vs South Africa Stat Highlights, 2nd Test 2019, Day 3: Keshav Maharaj, Vernon Philander Save South Africa’s Face; Ravi Ashwin Reaches Personal Milestone
Both Du Plessis and De Kock stood the survived the pace storm form India’s trio of fast bowlers but wilted to Ashwin. Kohli, extending the stay of his pace attack on Day 3, was forced to bring the ‘Ravi’ spin duo of Ashwin and Jadeja after both Yadav and Ishant Sharma earned two warnings running through the edges of danger line in the crease.
Keshav Maharaj and Vernon Philander saved South Africa the blushes with a 109-run stand for the ninth wicket, with the former even hitting his maiden Test fifty and rewriting few records before eventually falling to Ravichandran Ashwin who, after adding Kagiso Rabada’s scalp, became the fourth Indian bowler to complete 50 Test wickets against South Africa. Maharaj also registered his highest individual Test score and notched a flurry of records to his name. But his brilliance with the bat – battling a shoulder injury – after a tough day on the field wasn’t enough as India took a massive lead at stumps on Day 3. India Vs South Africa, Live Cricket Score 2nd Test Match.
The century stand between Maharaj and Philander – apart from a brief 50-plus run stand between Faf du Plessis and Quinton de Kock – was the only spark in South Africa’s batting line-up, which at one stage looked like it could bundle under 100 runs. South Africa skipper Du Plessis and De Kock stitched a 75-run partnership for the seventh wicket to rebuild the visitors’ essay after Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami had left South Africa on its haunches having combined to send the top-five back within 50 runs. R Ashwin Dismisses Quinton de Kock With An Absolute Peach in IND vs SA 2nd Test, Twitterati Heap Praises On the Indian Off-Spinner.
But with their two best batters still at the crease, the visitors could dream again. Both Du Plessis and De Kock stood the survived the pace storm form India’s trio of fast bowlers but wilted to Ashwin. Kohli, extending the stay of his pace attack on Day 3, was forced to bring the ‘Ravi’ spin duo of Ashwin and Jadeja after both Yadav and Ishant Sharma earned two warnings running through the edges of danger line in the crease. Ashwin struck twice, in between Jadeja’s wicket of Senuran Muthusamy. Take a look at some of the records the veteran off-spinner broke as well as other stat highlights of Day 3.
#Umesh Yadav Took A Three-Wicket Haul On His Return To Test Cricket After 10 Months. It Was His 11th 3-Fer Haul In Tests And Second Against South Africa. Yadav last played a Test match at Perth in December 2018.
#Ravichandran Ashwin Became The Fourth Indian Player To Take 50 Wickets Against South Africa. Anil Kumble (84), Javagal Srinath (64) And Harbhajan Singh Are The Other Players to complete the milestone against the Proteas.
#Ashwin Also Completed His 17th Four-Wicket Haul In Tests And Second Against South Africa.
#The Off-Spinner Has Now Taken Successive Four-Wicket Hauls In Back-To-Back Test Matches At Pune.
# Umesh also took his second third-wicket haul at the Maharashtra Cricket Stadium in Pune. In India’s first-ever Test match at the venue, Yadav had taken a 3-fer in the second innings to add to his five-wicket haul in the first.
#Faf Du Plessis Completed His 21st Test Half-Century In Test Cricket. It was also his fourth fifty in Test cricket against India. Two of those four have come on Indian soil.
#Keshav Maharaj Scored His Maiden Test Fifty In International Cricket. Maharaj Also Registered His Highest Score (71) In Test Cricket.
#The 109-Run Stand Between Keshav Maharaj And Vernon Philander Is The Third Highest Partnership For The Ninth Wicket In Overall Test Matches Against India.
#Maharaj Is Also The Fifth No 10 Batsman To Score A Test Half Century Against India In India. His Knock Of 71 Is Also The Highest Ever Score By A No 10 Batsman In India.
Meanwhile, India lead the three-match Test series 1-0 having beaten the visitors comprehensively by 203 runs in the first game at Visakhapatnam. Earlier, the hosts, power by a double hundred from captain Virat Kohli and a century from Mayank Agarwal, posted a gigantic 601 runs on board. A win at Pune will seal the series for India and make them the first team to win 11 successive Test series at home.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 12, 2019 06:35 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).