The third Test between South Africa and India at the Wanderers Stadium is in doubt after stumps was called early in the third session for safety concerns following a nasty incident where Dean Elgar was hit by a good-length delivery on the helmet.
The decision to call it a day earlier than expected followed a short meeting at the stadium between umpires Ian Gould and Aleem Dar‚ captains Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli and match referee Andy Pycroft.
Throughout the day there were concerns about a pitch that was producing uneven bounce but Gould and Dar allowed India to continue batting.
When play was stopped‚ South Africa were on 17/1 and still needing 224 runs to win and register a whitewash after they were set a target of 241 by India‚ who battled gallantly for most of the day to 247.
India remain in a good position to restore some pride following successive defeats in Cape Town and Centurion that have not gone down well with their millions of their passionate fans back home.
In India’s second innings‚ the Proteas let themselves down on the field when Dean Elgar and Andile Phehlukwayo dropped Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Anjikya Rahane during crucial stages in Friday’s second session‚ which could have swayed the encounter in SA’s favour.
Even though the Proteas ultimately took nine of the 10 wickets on the day‚ skipper Du Plessis will feel they could have much done better on this dangerous pitch where players took serious body blows because of the uneven bounce.
South Africa will resume on Saturday with Amla on two runs off 12 balls and Elgar 11 off 32‚ and faced with the challenging job of negotiating through the new ball.
They will hope to survive the early stages of the first session until the ball is soft and more conducive for batting.
Test in doubt as final session ends with Elgar struck on helmet
The third Test between South Africa and India at the Wanderers Stadium is in doubt after stumps was called early in the third session for safety concerns following a nasty incident where Dean Elgar was hit by a good-length delivery on the helmet.
The decision to call it a day earlier than expected followed a short meeting at the stadium between umpires Ian Gould and Aleem Dar‚ captains Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli and match referee Andy Pycroft.
Throughout the day there were concerns about a pitch that was producing uneven bounce but Gould and Dar allowed India to continue batting.
When play was stopped‚ South Africa were on 17/1 and still needing 224 runs to win and register a whitewash after they were set a target of 241 by India‚ who battled gallantly for most of the day to 247.
India remain in a good position to restore some pride following successive defeats in Cape Town and Centurion that have not gone down well with their millions of their passionate fans back home.
In India’s second innings‚ the Proteas let themselves down on the field when Dean Elgar and Andile Phehlukwayo dropped Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Anjikya Rahane during crucial stages in Friday’s second session‚ which could have swayed the encounter in SA’s favour.
Even though the Proteas ultimately took nine of the 10 wickets on the day‚ skipper Du Plessis will feel they could have much done better on this dangerous pitch where players took serious body blows because of the uneven bounce.
South Africa will resume on Saturday with Amla on two runs off 12 balls and Elgar 11 off 32‚ and faced with the challenging job of negotiating through the new ball.
They will hope to survive the early stages of the first session until the ball is soft and more conducive for batting.