India vs. South Africa, 4th Test, Day 2: Ashwin Shines and Embarrasses Visitors

South Africa will be hard-pressed to find an excuse in the pitch for their dismal display on Day 2 of the fourth and final Test against India.

The Proteas were dismissed for a dismal 121, still 14 runs short of the follow-on. Luckily for the visitors, India showed some mercy and opted to not enforce it, but they face a mammoth task if they wish to get anything positive out of this Test.

India have a lead of 213 and all the time in the world to make South Africa suffer even more. Here are some of the key points from Day 2.

South Africa’s Struggle with the Tail

The tail added 90 runs, spending over five hours at the crease between them. South Africa’s bowlers had no answers for nipping the lower-order batsmen out early despite the fact it was not exactly the easiest surface to bat on.

South Africa clearly underestimated Ravichandran Ashwin’s ability with the bat, but they also had no answers for how to think the tail out. It was painful to watch, and even without two of their front-line fast bowlers, the attack should have done better.

South Africa’s Ineptitude with the Bat

At one stage or another, all of South Africa’s batsmen looked completely inept. Watching this performance, it’s difficult to believe this is the No. 1-ranked team in the world. Yes, the top order is shaky and has played a bit of musical chairs for this Test, but it does not excuse hapless shots.

Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis are in terrible form, and there seems to be serious instability in the middle order. Despite his 42 runs, AB de Villiers was also clearly frustrated with the situation and played a ridiculous shot to get out before South Africa had avoided the follow-on.

The curious thing is it’s not as though South Africa lacks talented batsmen; there are plenty of those. They just seem mentally scarred from what happened in Mohali and Nagpur and have all collectively entered mental capitulation in Delhi.

India’s Bowlers Hunt in Packs

Sure, India’s bowlers have some of South Africa’s ineptitude to thank for picking up so many wickets, but they seemed to bowl smarter and with more accuracy than the Proteas attack.

More importantly, they made South Africa play while stifling the runs. Out of the 312 legal deliveries, 233 were dot balls, an astounding amount and evidence of South Africa's inability to just keep the scoreboard ticking over. The tourists managed just 41 singles. India’s attack was constantly putting pressure on South Africa from both ends, which ultimately led to a number of irresponsible shots.

South Africa’s Lowest Point in the Last 9 Years?

Many would have expected South Africa to lose their illustrious record of not having lost away from home in a Test for nine years, but not many would have expected for there to be quite so much bloodshed.

Not one of India’s batsmen has more than 50 caps. Out of the whole squad, only Ishant Sharma has played over 50 Tests. South Africa’s batsmen are far more experienced than India's players, yet they have looked like the rookies.

This tour has arguably been South Africa’s lowest point in nine years. Sure, they have been beaten and slipped up in recent times, but it’s been a long time since they have been so comprehensively outclassed.