India started day four needing to pick up quick wickets, as every run that South Africa made piled on the pressure on the Indian batting line-up.
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AB de Viliers and Dean Elgar started off the day knowing that they could bat India out of this game today. While Elgar battled hard for his 61, AB played a lovely innings as he took the game away from India.
Coming in at 3-2, the South African genius immediately hit his stride after hitting a couple of beautiful cover drives.
De Villiers, just like Kohli in India’s first innings, looked like he was playing another game altogether. While all other batsman struggled on a dodgy Centurion pitch, AB scored a fluent 80 off 121 deliveries.
Eventually it was Mohammed Shami who got rid of AB, as the tireless pacer got one to jump and surprise De Villiers.
Shami then got rid of both Elgar and De Kock, as India finally got the wickets they needed. But that’s when Faf du Plessis and Vernon Philander put together a wonderful partnership, that took the South African lead way past 200.
The Indians were clearly desperate, as the bowlers toiled away without any success. Things came to a head when Jasprit Bumrah asked Kohli to call for DRS, after he believed to have trapped Faf du Plessis in front of the stumps.
But the replays showed that it was ridiculous call, as the ball was no where near the pads. In fact, the ball hit the middle of the bat, as Faf was bemused at India’s appeal.
Kohli could see the funny side, as he gave a wry smile after seeing the replays on the big screen. Bumrah himself was bemused, as India wasted a crucial review, that may come back to haunt them later in the match.
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