‘Sai Sudharsan should have bowled’: Serious question raised on India’s four-over strategy in first Test IND vs SA | Cricket News
Former Indian cricketer Akash Chopra has expressed his disagreement with India’s decision to exclude Sai from the first XI Test match in Kolkata on Friday.“Sai should have bowled in this Test. India will be under-bowling at least one, maybe two bowlers in this Test,” he wrote on X.In the morning session of the first cricket Test against South Africa at Eden Gardens, Jasprit Bumrah took two wickets while conceding just nine runs as India staged a comeback.
South Africa, after winning the toss, began aggressively scoring an unbeaten 57 runs in the first hour. They finished the first session at 105-3 in 27 overs.Wiaan Mulder and Tony de Zorzi remained undefeated at the break, scoring 22 and 15 points respectively.Indian captain Shubman Gill’s bad luck with tosses continued as he lost his seventh toss in eight Tests, with South Africa opting to bat first.The South African openers got off to a good start with Aiden Markram scoring 31 runs and Ryan Rickelton contributing 23 runs.The visitors’ position weakened as they slipped from 57-0 to 71-3 in 5.3 overs. However, Mulder and de Zorzi stabilized the innings with a partnership of 34 runs off 66 balls.South Africa made changes to their line-up as Kagiso Rabada sat out with a rib injury, with Corbin Bosch stepping in. The team selected two spinners, Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj.The Proteas have not registered a victory in India since 2015, with their last Test series victory coming in 2000-01 under the captaincy of Hansie Cronje.Eden Gardens in Kolkata is hosting its first Test match since the 2019 day-night contest between India and Bangladesh.The second Test is scheduled at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati from November 22, marking its debut as a men’s Test venue after hosting several matches in the 2025 Women’s Cricket World Cup.In the last matches, India beat West Indies 2-0, with Yadav taking 12 wickets, while South Africa drew 1-1 in their two-Test series in Pakistan.
