Jasprit Bumrah takes five as India claim slight edge over Proteas

Jasprit Bumrah shut his critics with one of his best fivewicket hauls in the traditional format as the Indian fast bowling unit gave the team slight edge over South Africa on an exhilarating second day of the third and final TestBumrah 2338425 was at the heart of Indias swift and brutal counterattack as he got his seventh fivewicket haul with fine complementary acts from Mohammed Shami 164392 and Umesh Yadav 163642 that helped them bundle out the Proteas for 210The lead of 13 that India managed was less about the quantum and more about the psychological advantage that they gained and despite losing Mayank Agarwal 7 and KL Rahul 10 cheaply the visitors scored runs at a fair clip to reach 57 for 2 at stumps Skipper Virat Kohli 14 batting and Cheteshwar Pujara 9 batting with a cumulative experience of 194 Tests have the responsibility of taking the team to a winning total And while statistics at times are of little or no relevance but Kohli wouldnt be too unhappy to know that India have never lost a Test match in which his premier strike bowler has taken a fivewicket haulIt was a day when Kohlis captaincy acumen was worth praising as he made relevant bowling changes at the right time juggled with subtle field placings and also took his 100th catch in Test cricketBut someone who would be really smiling at the end of the day is Bumrah who had a forgettable game at the Wanderers and copped a fair amount of flak for bowling too short and not depending on his strengths There were analytics showing how his strikerate wickets per deliveries had doubled since a back injury but on Wednesday he showed that he is skipper Kohlis real Xfactor the man who makes the difference between a good and a worldclass sideThe delivery that got Aiden Markram was pitched just a shade outside offstump and it seemed to be going straight but suddenly jagged back embarrassing the South African opener who had shouldered arms Whenever Markram sees the replay he would know that Bumrah made him feel inadequate when it came to knowing where his offstump was On the day Bumrah slightly altered the length making it slightly fuller on the offstump and the offstump channel lineThe length and bounce was such that batters seemed confused about whether it would bounce above stumps or come at the stumps One such delivery got South Africas best performer Keegan Petersen 72 off 166 balls as it kicked up awkwardly from length but enough for the batter to have a jab at it and Cheteshwar Pujara accepted the offering at second slipBut credit should also go to Shami who in the post lunch session got two wickets in three balls to unsettle the Proteas after Petersen and Rassie van der Dussen 21 had added 67 for the fourth wicket If Umesh set up the session with a conventional outswinger that saw Van Der Dussen edging one to Kohli at second slip Shami removed the dogged Temba Bavuma 28 and Kyle Verreynne 0 with two ideal Test match deliveries in the 56th over The deliveries had everything upright seam and pitched fuller on the offstump with just about adequate movement Bavuma was caught low by a diving Kohli while Rishabh Pant had a smart take to remove his opposite numberAt stroke of tea Bumrah settled his scores with Marco Jansen sending his offstump for a walk The best part of the session was skipper Kohlis adjustment when he at second slip decided to stand a few steps ahead of the first slip after realising that the ball was not carrying in fullThere were a couple of times when Shardul Thakur 61210 found the outside edge of Petersens bat but on both occasions the ball died down in front of skipper Kohli at first slip The bounce available on the Newlands track isnt as steep as it was at the Centurion and the Wanderers which belong to the Highveld regionThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever