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"We Will Win The Match Easily If...": Sourav Ganguly On IND vs SA 2nd Test

Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday praised India's bowling attack against South Africa in the second Test match in Cape Town and said that if the visitors perform well with the bat then they will easily win the long-format game. Ganguly met the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Vishnu Deo Sai in Raipur after getting an invitation from him. While speaking to the press, Ganguly said that he was sad after the 'Men in Blue' lost the ODI World Cup 2023 final match against Australia after displaying a magnificent performance throughout the tournament.

He also pointed out India's stellar performance in the second Test match against the Proteas.

"I am sad that we could not win the World Cup after playing such a good cricket, but we will win in the future. The team has got a lot of quality. Look how they dismissed South Africa at 55 in Cape Town. If they perform well with the bat then we will win the Test match easily. We have also won the ODI series against South Africa," Ganguly said.

In the second Test match against South Africa, Mohammed Siraj's six-wicket haul helped India to bundle the hosts at 55/10 in the first inning on day one.

He added that "it was nice" meeting the CM for the first time. The former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president also praised the cricket facilities of the new stadium in Raipur. He also asked the CM Vishnu Deo to promote cricket in the state.

"I was happy to meet the CM Vishnu Deo Sai, and this was the first time we met so it was nice. When I was the President of the BCCI, India played against New Zealand over here in Chhattisgarh. It's a new stadium and also a new state for the Ranji Trophy. The facilities are also good here. I have also asked the CM to promote cricket in the state. This was the first time I met CM and I did not expect that I would get an invitation from him," he added.

When asked about the upcoming T20 World Cup, he said that the best team would be picked and hoped that the 'Men in Blue' would perform well in the tournament.

"Still a lot of time left for the T20 World Cup. India has many good players and hopefully, the best team will be selected and we will perform well in the tournament," he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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2nd Test: Siraj Steals Show Before India Suffer Dramatic Batting Collapse

Mohammed Siraj got six wickets in a breathtakingly menacing morning spell but to his horror found India losing six wickets in a space of eleven balls in the final session before regaining the advantage against South Africa on a rivetting day one of the second Test in Cape Town. After Siraj's career-best 6/15 decimated South Africa for their lowest post-apartheid score of 55, India were 153 for 4 before losing six wickets without addition of single run in a space of 11 deliveries to end with a 98-run lead.

There were six Indian batters, who failed to open their accounts and one who remained not out also didn't trouble the scorer, making it a statistician's nightmare.

Lungi Ngidi (3/30) and Kagiso Rabada (3/38) got five of those six wickets keeping the lead below 100 and gaining the necessary psychological advantage as 23 wickets fell on the opening day.

South Africa were more cautious despite being aggressive as they scored 62 for three in their second innings at stumps to bring down the deficit to 36 runs. Aiden Markram (32 batting) looked solid in the middle.

The maximum number of wickets lost on Day 1 of a Test is 25 and that happened in an Ashes Test back in 1902.

Dean Elgar, in his last Test match, would like to forget that he got out twice in a day's play while Mukesh Kumar (2/0 and 2/25) was rewarded for consistently pitching the ball in right areas, getting enough away movement against southpaws.

Any chance of the match going into the third day looks remote.

On a Newlands track that offered steep bounce and would certainly come under the ICC match referee Chris Broad's radar, the red Kookaburra ball took off like jumbo jet from the length making it impossible for batters to survive.

Between shoulder blades to lower abdomen, batters got hit everywhere as the bounce became variable towards the end of the day.

Rohit Sharma (39 off 50 balls) lived dangerously but smacked seven delicious fours, knowing that surviving won't get him anywhere. Ditto for Virat Kohli (46 off 59 balls) and Shubman Gill (36 off 55 balls), who also showed right intent.

The talented duo of Yashasvi Jaiswal (0) and Shreyas Iyer (0), from the famed "Khadoos School of Mumbai Cricket" didn't trouble the scorers, after once again being exposed for technical ineptitude.

A Special Spell

Before Siraj's special effort, the only Indian in country's 92 year Test history to take five wickets before lunch was left-arm spinner Maninder Singh, who achieved the feat against Pakistan in Bengaluru back in 1986-1987.

On a humid Wednesday morning, South African batters found what a great leveller the game of cricket is with Siraj ripping the heart out of the Proteas batting with a masterclass of pace, swing and seam movement. The Proteas innings ended in just 23.2 overs.

David Bedingham (12) and Kyle Verreynne (15) were the only two batters to hit the double digits as the South African supporters in stands were stunned into silence.

Jasprit Bumrah (2/25 in 8 overs) also kept the pressure from the other end as Indian skipper Rohit Sharma kept his promise of making opposite number Dean Elgar's life miserable in his farewell Test.

Mukesh also wrapped the tail up and proved that he is way better than a bits and pieces Shardul Thakur in these conditions.

Having been pilloried for conceding 400 plus runs in the heavy defeat at the Centurion, even the biggest of Indian supporters wouldn't have envisaged such a roaring comeback from the bowlers.

Siraj kept the ball on fuller lengths between 4-6 metres and with bounce got most balls to jag back in.

From the other end, Bumrah hit the back of length area as Rohit set completely attacking fields, albeit of different nature.

When Siraj bowled initially, there was a leg-slip placed while for Bumrah, Rohit himself stood at short leg.

The procession started with Markram going on a 'fishing expedition' to a delivery that moved in air and shaped away with the opener closing his bat face. Yashasvi Jaiswal took a fantastic catch at third slip to send back Markram.

The stodgy Elgar played one to his stumps off Siraj who angled one across on fuller length, not giving him enough room to play the cut shot.

Bumrah got young Tristan Stubbs into a tangle and the simple catch was gobbled up by skipper at short-leg.

Tony De Zorzi's affinity to whip balls off the hips was exploited as he was caught down the leg-side.

Unlike Centurion, there were plans in place and David Bedingham, who was fed on the backfoot in the first Test, was enticed to go for a drive on length and extra bounce did the trick.

Once Marco Jansen edged Siraj to give him his fifth scalp, one knew that South Africa would have one of their most embarrassing mornings since return to international cricket.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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"Injury Can Happen To" Jasprit Bumrah: Ex-India Star On Need For Depth

India must focus on increasing the bench strength of their pace attack in 2024 as the Centurion Test exposed chinks in that department, reckons former pacer Irfan Pathan. Mohammed Shami's absence was felt badly in the heavy loss to South Africa in the opening Test of the two-match series in the Rainbow Nation last week.

Jasprit Bumrah, who did not get the support from the likes of Shardul Thakur and Prasidh Krishna in the first Test, is also injury prone. Speaking to Star Sports on areas India need to improve in the new year, Pathan said: "India need to prepare a good fast bowling unit in 2024. We saw what happened in South Africa, the back ups were not ready. Shami was missed.

"If god forbid, something happens to Bumrah as we have seen in the past, injury can happen to him. If we don't prepare a big pool, we won't get quality pacers like them (Bumrah, Shami). You need to have 7-8 pacers ready for the highest level," he said.

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar wants the Indian team to have the right blend of youth and experience.

"The biggest focus should be on having a good blend of youth and experience. Because that is always something that comes in handy. You need to have a wise cool head to temper the excitement of the younger blood," said Gavaskar.

India must also prepare leaders to take over from Rohit Sharma in due time, added Pathan.

"Leadership is another area we need to focus on. We need to have 2-3 leaders ready as this year we can see many changes. India did very well under Kohli in Test cricket for five years. He led from the front.

"Same with Rohit who led us to the World Cup final and we won Asia Cup under him. We need to groom leaders like them," added Pathan.

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Don't Recognise ad-Hoc Panel And Ministry Suspension: Sanjay Singh

Indian wrestling teetered on the edge of a deeper crisis with Sanjay Singh, President of the suspended WFI, on Monday declaring that they will soon organise the national championships and insisting that they neither recognise the suspension of their newly-elected body by Sports Ministry nor the ad-hoc panel. Three days after the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) held its polls, the ministry suspended the sports body citing several violations of rules on December 24. On the request of the government, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) then formed a three-member panel, headed by Bhupender Singh Bajwa, to manage the day-to-day affairs of the body. The other members of the committee are former hockey player M M Somaya and ex-shuttler Manjusha Kanwar.

The ad-hoc panel announced that it will host the senior national championships in Jaipur from February 2-5.

Sanjay, though, remained combative and said they will not co-operate with the ad-hoc panel and will organise the Nationals.

"We got elected democratically. The Returning Officer had signed the papers, how do they ignore that. We do not recognise this ad-hoc panel," Sanjay told PTI.

Asked how will they organise they Nationals, he said, "We do not recognise this suspension. The WFI is working smoothly, we are on the job." "How will they (ad-hoc panel) organise Nationals if our state associations will not send the teams. We will organise our National Championship soon. We are soon calling the Executive Committee meeting. The notice of the EC meeting will be sent in a day or two and we will have the Nationals organised before they do it." If the WFI goes on to organise its own Nationals the crisis will take a turn for the worst.

"We had sent our explanation to the ministry that we have not flouted any rules. We are still awaiting a reply. We will wait for a day or two. If they do not want to engage with us, we are not also not interested then.

"Our federation does not recognise this suspension." Indian wrestling has witnessed unprecedented power struggle in the last one year. In protest against Sanjay, who is a close aide of sexual harassment accused Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, becoming WFI president Bajrang Punia returned his Padma Shri and Vinesh Phogat returned her Arjuna Award and Khel Ratna.

Sakshi Malik had quit wrestling the day Sanjay won the WFI president's election. PTI AT AT AH AH

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