IND vs SA: "Sacrificed Batting To..." - Wasim Jaffer's Colossal Remark On India's Team Selection For 2nd Test

Former Indian batter Wasim Jaffer was all praise for the Indian coaching staff for carrying out a very good team selection for the 2nd Test against South Africa at Newlands Cricket Ground. He also appreciated the efforts of pacer Mohammed Siraj who was breathing fire throughout the 1st session as he registered career-best figures of 6/15 by bowling 9 overs.

Siraj partnered with Jasprit Bumrah in order to build pressure on South African batters early on in the innings. Both of them kept charging in from both ends, kept hitting the right line and lengths, and soon they reaped the rewards. Mohammed Siraj who has made a habit of breaking the spine of batting line-ups, did exactly the same once again.

Aiden Markram became his first scalp of the day as his ball beautifully took the edge of Markram with KL Rahul completing an easy catch. Up next on his radar was the man who scored 185 in the 1st test, Captain Dean Elgar. As he tried to set up Elgar, Siraj ended up bowling a slight short-of-length bowl which the left-hander happened to chop off onto his own stumps to get out on a hit wicket for just 4 runs in his farewell test match.

Then Jasprit Bumrah joined the party and led to the dismissal of Tristan Stubbs before Mohammed Siraj continued with his wicket-taking spree. David Bedingham (12), Kyle Verreynne (15), and Marco Jansen (0) all mistimed their shots and ended up edging Siraj’s smartly pitched balls to the gloves of KL Rahul, ended up giving the Hyderabad-born bowler, a perfect gift for the new years.

Prasidh Krishna remained wicketless having bowled 4 overs while Mukesh Kumar smelled and picked up a brace of wickets out of the 14 balls he bowled in the 1st session. Although the Final Frontier still remains unbreached, India managed to upset the hosts who had beaten them in the Boxing Day Test by an innings and 32 runs.

Wasim Jaffer Salutes Dravid’s Batting Sacrifice And Calls Mohammed Siraj “Immaculate”

Wasim Jaffer right after watching South Africa’s dramatic collapse, took to X(formerly Twitter) to pay his respects to the Rahul Dravid-led management for sacrificing the batting line-up in order to improve and exemplify the bowling attack, which indeed needed more attention.

He went on to claim that Mohammed Siraj’s outstanding day with the ball has put India in a commanding position and it should be a win-win situation for Rohit Sharma’s side. Jaffer also praised the partnership of Bumrah-Siraj, calling them immaculate in terms of technique, discipline, and mindset.

“Aggressive team selection from India. They’ve sacrificed batting to strengthen the bowling and understandably so as it’s a must win game. The start from Siraj and Bumrah has been immaculate. Now for Prasidh and Mukesh to not let SA off the hook,” Jaffer wrote.

Agressive team selection from India. They've sacrificed batting to strengthen the bowling and understandably so as it's a must win game. The start from Siraj and Bumrah has been immaculate. Now for Prasidh and Mukesh to not let SA off the hook. #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/txnL85eT06

— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) January 3, 2024

Watch Mohammed Siraj Remove South African Captain Dean Elgar

Markram ☝️
Elgar ☝️
de Zorzi ☝️

Miyan Magic in full flow at Newlands ?#SAvIND #MohammedSirajpic.twitter.com/r6tv1DNY8T

— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) January 3, 2024

Meanwhile, India have lost Yashasvi Jaiswal already for a duck with Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill setting their sights to spend the entire day on the crease. The Indian captain is looking in a good touch, has already stretched his arms, scored a couple of Fours and is closing in on a half-century.