SA vs IND 2018: Ottis Gibson Says Fast Bowling Will be their Formula Throughout the Series

South Africa took a 1-0 lead in the three-match Test series after winning the first Test by 27 runs at Newlands in Cape Town. The first Test between South Africa and India belonged to the fast bowlers as 38 wickets out of the 40 wickets to fall were taken by the fast bowlers. India took eight wickets for 65 runs in the first session of the day as the hosts were bowled out for 130 in the second innings.

However, the hosts had the better of the Indian batsmen once again and dismissed the visitors for a mere 135 runs in the second innings. South Africa head coach Ottis Gibson believes that fast bowling is the key factor for the Proteas. Gibson believes fast bowling is the key to any team’s success in world cricket.

Gibson’s obsession for fast bowling could be seen on his approach to Dale Steyn’s injuries when he brought two fast bowlers, Duanne Olivier and Lungi Ngidi as Steyn’s replacements. Gibson said:

“When you’re playing at home you play to your strengths and at the moment we have some high quality fast bowlers. You saw some good fast bowlers on both sides and from my understanding of Centurion, it’s a pitch with some pace and bounce and that will probably be the make-up of the team going forward.” 

“I’m a very fast bowling-minded coach and I guess we’ll always have to find a balance with whether or not we can get four fast bowlers in the team, first of all. If not, then we will try and look to shape the team in other ways. Ultimately, and especially in this series and for the rest of the summer, we’ll be looking to see how best we can fit four fast bowlers into whatever formula we come up with.”

Batsmen from both the sides failed miserably in both the innings of the first Test and with a spinner in both side not playing any major role both the teams will be looking to bring in an extra batsman and drop the spinner. Gibson has made it clear that four fast bowlers will be the formula throughout the series and bring Temba Bavuma for the Centurion Test will be a topic of discussion the South African camp.

Gibson said of Maharaj:

“He’s been spoken to about how we’re going to look to shape for this series and he is very much a part of it. With the nature of the pitch he didn’t get to operate as much as he normally does for us, but he is still a very important part of our group, whether he plays or not.”

“When we get to Pretoria we will see what those conditions offer us and then we’ll pick a team, but Kesh is certainly a big part of our plans moving forward into the summer and even beyond that because he’s a world class spinner.”

Follow more news about India’s tour of South Africa 2018 here.