India vs. South Africa, 4th Test, Day 4: SA Fights Back with Gripping Effort

In a completely unexpected turn of events, South Africa managed to take the fourth Test against India into the fifth and final day. For the first time this series, they showed some bottle. There is no way South Africa are going to win this Test, but at least they showed what can happen when they knuckle down and just play the ball, not the pitch or a bowler’s reputation.

South Africa ended Day 4 on 72 for two, still 409 runs short of victory. That’s highly unlikely, but it’s the fact that Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers are still at the crease that matters. We’ve picked some key points from Day 4, add your own thoughts in the comments.

Ajinkya Rahane Shines Once More

While India captain Virat Kohli failed to reach a century milestone, Ajinkya Rahane did. He showed immense concentration to get there, and, after having done so in the first innings, too, he showed that he is a valuable player for India.

Rahane is an immensely talented batsman, but with India’s batting wealth, he had to wait a long time before eventually getting his chance. If there was any doubt that he is a key part of this Indian team, those doubts have surely now been quelled.

South Africa Find Their Fight

It’s taken three Tests and two embarrassing defeats, but South Africa have finally showed everyone why they are the No. 1-ranked team in the world. The Proteas were clearly mentally scarred from the disasters in Mohali and Nagpur and that showed in their first innings when they collapsed to 121 all out.

This pitch is by no means easy to bat on, but this is exactly the kind of fight people expect from South Africa. They have done it in Australia, they have done it in Sri Lanka and, now, they have finally done it in India. There is a long way to go in this Test, and the fifth and final day will be toughest day yet, but surely the South African’s have regained some of the confidence that had been flayed.

Temba Bavuma Stands Tall

Temba Bavuma scored just 34 runs, but he showed immense character during his time at the crease. He was thrown into the deep end in this Test, being asked to open the batting when he is usually a middle-order batsman.

Bavuma has now given South African selectors a headache ahead of the England Test series. Having earmarked Stiaan van Zyl as an opener, who failed on the tricky surfaces, surely Bavuma is in with a chance to open the batting during the summer Tests?

Test Cricket Reminds Everyone How Gripping it can be

Anyone who even dare suggests that the day was “boring” will be swiftly judged and condemned by Test cricket fans. This was everything but boring, and exactly what many expected the whole series would be like.

The concentration from both sides was something to behold. Even though you knew that almost every ball was likely to be a dot ball, you couldn’t help but be gripped. For South African fans, every dot ball allowed another sigh of relief. For Indian fans, every dot ball just gnawed away at the confidence that India should win this easily.

South Africa went at a rate of just one run an over and while that might seem painful to watch, it was the most entertaining thing cricket fans would have seen all weekend.

Amla’s Sluggish Strike Rate

In keeping with the team of doing things slow and steady, the South African captain should be singled out.

He scored just 23 runs off 207 balls, giving him a strike-rate of just 11.11. As things stands, this is the lowest strike-rate in Tests for a player facing 200 balls or more. For players facing 100 balls or more, it's the 10th lowest.

Amla has looked out of sorts in the Tests up to know, but this is exactly the kind of innings everyone knows the South African skipper is capable of.