‘Shaan Masood was disappointed by the Newlands pitch’

Exactly one year ago today, this was Cape Town and this same Newlands wicket where South African captain Dean Elgar was playing his farewell Test match. The pitch that the curators had prepared for their captain’s farewell match here had made its own kind of ‘history’.

The first day of the five-day match saw most of the three innings of the match played. 26 batsmen tried their luck here but only four were lucky enough to touch double figures. In the first innings, South Africa recorded their lowest score against India.

In the first innings of the same match, India also set a ‘record’ by becoming the first team in the history of Test cricket to lose their last six wickets for nil. Six wickets each from Mohammad Siraj in the first innings and Jasprit Bumrah in the third innings ultimately led to India’s historic victory here.

When Shan Masood’s think tank refrained from announcing its XI until the final evening before the match, the reason was clearly that they were unable to form a final opinion about the pitch at Newlands.

While the data was showing them a bowler’s paradise in Cape Town, the current pitch’s apparent appearance was making them think otherwise, with dry patches of grass scattered between the pitches. And then when Bavuma announced the return of Keshav Maharaj to his XI, the dilemma for the Pakistani camp was further compounded.

But on the morning of the match, Pakistan decided to ignore all the outward signs and follow the guidance of history and data and took the field with four seamers. Here they expected the same pitch on which Bumrah and Siraj had taken six wickets each.

When comparing playing conditions in Test cricket around the world, South Africa stands out as the most prominent ground where the balance between ball and bat has never been fair.

Former captain Faf du Plessis openly demanded ‘spicier’ pitches from his curators. Even though Dean Elgar admits to the media that his home conditions were hurting his own batsmen’s statistics, for him winning was more important than all these factors.

But this time at Newlands, South Africa has suddenly reversed its traditional policy and produced a pitch that is not as good for the bowlers’ confidence as it is for the batsmen’s statistics.

• First, the area of ​​land allocated for this match did not have any live grass that could have increased the movement of the ball. Then, the green outfield available here did not dull the shine of the ball enough to create any possibility of reverse swing.
  On such pitches, only two weapons could be useful for a bowling attack, and Pakistan was completely deprived of both of them.
  Shan Masood, who was drunk on data and history, was not worried about losing the toss even after coming out with four seamers because he wanted to bowl first. However, to fulfill such desires, he had neither a regular spinner nor a pacer who could impose himself on the match.
  Pakistan wanted to provide the amount of regular spin needed to break partnerships here thanks to Salman Agha and Saim Ayub. But while Saim’s injury left the Pakistani team incomplete, the failure to select a regular spinner ruined Pakistan’s ambitions.
  And the light seam movement that was available here and there, the Pakistani attack failed to take advantage of due to the lack of pace. By the grace of fate, if some opportunities did arise, they were lost to shortcomings in the field.
  It would then be called a mere irony of fate that Ryan Rickleton fell short of the magical target of a triple century despite riding on Pakistani nerves for over ten hours.
  ,Image sourceGetty Images
  ,Photo captionIn Cape Town, Pakistan has fallen into a quagmire from which it will need not one, but two or three miracles to get out.
  In Cape Town, Pakistan is stuck in a rut from which it will need not one, but two or three miracles to get out of it, and given the attitude this pitch has shown in the first two days, these miracles are not out of the question.
  But the South African attack not only has a variety of pace and size, but they also have a world-class spinner in the form of Keshav Maharaj who can wreak havoc on the fourth and fifth day pitches.