Everyone knew that the India tour of South Africa 2023/24 was going to be a tough one. The T20 series was drawn 1-1 while India won the ODI series 2-1 but what followed was Team India’s worst ever defeat in a Test match in South Africa, as they lost the first of two Tests by an innings and 32 runs. And in the face of this defeat, the visitors had to come back stronger for the 2nd Test.
Scheduled between 3-7 Jan 2024, the New Year Test saw South Africa winning the toss and electing to bat first. However, it turned out to be a horribly wrong decisions as they were reduced to 15/4 and then 46/8, as wickets kept tumbling from all sides, unable to give any answers to good pace bowling by Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, and Mukesh Kumar.
South Africa 55 all out – best reactions
Siraj has seen a great growth trajectory in international cricket over the last few months. He was the hero in the Asia Cup 2023 final against Sri Lanka and then once again tore into the same opponents in the 2023 ODI World Cup in their group stage game in Mumbai too. Now, he took this form to the Test format, getting a 5-fer in the first session of the 2nd Test itself.
Siraj weaving magic at Newlands! Impeccable length and a spellbinding display of seam bowling!#SAvIND pic.twitter.com/keq8mJQLat
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) January 3, 2024
From getting 36 All out under Virat kohli to getting South Africa all out for 55 Runs under Rohit Sharma.
Indian Team has came a long way !#INDvsSA pic.twitter.com/OJtYaORRlt
— ᴘʀᴀᴛʜᴍᴇsʜ⁴⁵ (@45Fan_Prathmesh) January 3, 2024
Getting a side bowled out in the first day of a Test is a good bowling effort but as for India, they nearly bowled out the home team in the very first session of the Test itself. The wrecker-in-chief, Siraj, picked up 6 wickets out of the 8 that fell in the first session, ending a beautiful spell of Test bowling, grabbing returns of 6/15 in his first 9 overs bowled with the new ball.
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Eventually, he was given a rest and Mukesh Kumar who replaced him struck in his first over as well. Siraj was given a break and Mukesh decided to clean up along with his senior bowling partner, Jasprit Bumrah. Eventually, they got two wickets each along with Siraj’s 6-fer, to get South Africa 55 all out, something no other Indian touring team has done here before!
From getting 36 All out under Virat kohli to getting South Africa all out for 55 Runs under Rohit Sharma.
Indian Team has came a long way !#INDvsSA pic.twitter.com/OJtYaORRlt
— ᴘʀᴀᴛʜᴍᴇsʜ⁴⁵ (@45Fan_Prathmesh) January 3, 2024
Sachin Tendulkar was quick to shower his praise on Siraj with a post on twitter (now called X) while many other experts congratulated him as well. Quite a few people also showered praise on Rohit Sharma’s captaincy. BCCI also posted about how this became the lowest Test score by any team against India in Test history. See here:
Innings Break!
A stupendous outing for our bowlers in the first innings as South Africa are all out for 55 runs in the first session of the 2nd Test.
This is the lowest Test score by an opposition against India.
Scorecard – https://t.co/j9tTnGLuBP #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/86iHajl5Yu
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 3, 2024
Siraj himself took to social media on the 1st of January 2024 to wish his followers a happy new year, while also letting everyone know that he’s playing with the same determination as earlier. Here’s a look at Siraj’s social media post from a couple of days ago:
New year, new challenges, same determination 🧿 pic.twitter.com/cyYnqSnZxz
— Mohammed Siraj (@mdsirajofficial) January 1, 2024
For more updates from the 2023-24 India tour of South Africa and other sporting and cricketing news from across the world, remember to always stay tuned to ReadScoops.com…
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