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India skipper Rohit Sharma showered praise on pacer Prasidh Krishna and said that he can succeed in the Test format.
India will look to draw the series as they face South Africa in the second Test on January 3 at the Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town. Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Rohit accepted that, currently, they have little "inexperience" in their bowling attack. He added that they have to trust them so they can prevail and get the job done. "Having said that, I still feel that sometimes we've got a little bit of inexperience in our bowling, and sometimes when you have that, you've got to show some faith in them, show trust in them, and that can happen to any team. Like I said in the last post-match press conference [in Centurion] about Prasidh [Krishna] playing his first game, we all get nervous when you are playing your first game. It's understandable, but I thought, and I'll still back that thought of mine, that he's got a good ability to succeed at this level and especially in this format. So it's just about showing faith and trust in everyone and getting the job done from them," Rohit said. Recapping the first Test match, it was completely dominated by South Africa. Rabada's five-wicket haul put India on the back foot. KL Rahul played a counter-attacking knock of 101 but it was soon overshadowed by Elgar's breathtaking 185. On Day 3, Nandre Burger, with his lethal bouncers and precise line and length, pushed India's batters back against the wall. A game that seemed to be headed for the fourth day was concluded on the third day itself. India batters were no match for South Africa pacers as the pace trio of Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen and Burger ran through India's entire batting line-up. Virat Kohli was the only batter who knew how to churn out runs on a surface, which proved to be too much for the rest of the batters. After a dismal start to their second innings, South Africa struck India hard by removing Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul in quick succession. After Burger removed Ravichandran Ashwin for a golden duck, India's fate was more or less sealed. Jasprit Bumrah's runout following a brilliant effort in the field by Dean Elgar caused a mood of dismay. A brilliant review from the South Africa team saw Mohammed Siraj gloving the ball straight to the wicketkeeper. Prasidh Krishna struggled hard but Jansen got the better of Kohli (76), which brought an end to India's struggle within three days. (ANI)
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