SA vs IND 2018: Proud Parents of Lungi Ngidi Reveal How the Pacer Impressed at a Very Young Age

It was not all about the match between India and South on Wednesday (January 24) and seeing Lungi Ngidi once again.

Sure, the hosts were giving the visitors a hard time on the field on a pacer-friendly wicket, but on a particular day, proud parents of Lungi Ngidi shared the spotlight at the Wanderers Stadium where the teams were involved in the ongoing third Test.

Lungi’s parents, Bongi and Jerome Ngidi, watched their 21-year-old son make his dream debut in Test cricket when he dismantled the Indian line-up with a stunning spell of six for 39, helping South Africa to win the game by 135 runs and seal the series in Centurion.

The parents, however, watched the game on television. But they did not miss the second opportunity to see their son’s bowling from close quarters, as they attended the ongoing game in Johannesburg. Lungi’s parents, who live in Durban where they are both employed as cleaners, cheered their son from the stands, as he once again made life difficult for the Indian batsmen.

The right-arm pacer, who had made his debut in the second Test, could have tasted success in his very second over when he pinned Cheteshwar Pujara on the pads. However, the umpire gave his decision in the batsman’s favour, and the Proteas did not go for the review.

Replays later showed three reds and Ngidi was robbed of a wicket. But South Africa’s latest pace sensation went on to take the prized scalp of India skipper Virat Kohli, making his parents proud, as they were all smiles seeing his son dismiss arguably the best batsman in the world at present.

Later in an interview with a local television channel, Lungi’s parents expressed their delight over their son’s performance. His mother, Bongi revealed the pacer started playing at just two and had impressed all at a very early stage while his father said he was proud to see his son playing against the world number one Test side.

“He started to play at the age of 2. We knew early that something big is coming!” Bongi Ngidi was quoted as saying by SABC Sport.

“I am really so proud of my son. He’s playing against India, the number one test team in the world,” Jerome Ngidi said.

Last week, the parents, in an interview with The Witness, had spoken about the pacer’s childhood.

“When he started school at Kloof Junior Primary Lungi began to show interest in everything that has to do with sports,” Jerome had said.

“He loved rugby, cricket, swimming, hockey, football and athletics. He is a quiet and disciplined boy; he doesn’t like talking that much, but he likes his sports. He always wanted to play for the national team; those were his wishes. He always used to say he wants to play like Makhaya Ntini. Even the young boys he used to play with as a kid would call him Makhaya Ntini because of the way he bowled.

“He left the other sports codes because his coach at Hilton College advised him to pick one sport and focus on it. He chose cricket. At the age of 15, he started playing for the junior national teams, and he started touring countries such as India and England, and that’s when we saw that he was going to go far,” he had added.

Lungi’s mother had revealed how his son had given her strength during tough times.

“He has always been a very focused child, and when I was down or sad, he would come and give me a hug and say, ‘I don’t want you to cry mom, you are still going to be rich. I want you to sit down and enjoy your life.’

“In 2015 he bought a house for us when he was just 19 years old, and that shows what kind of a person he is. He hasn’t forgotten where he comes from … Our wish for him is that he stays humble and that he continues to play until he reaches a point where he decides to retire,” Bongi had said.

South Africa on top:

Meanwhile, coming to the game, South Africa finished day one on 6 for one after dismissing India for just 187. Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli scored half-centuries but the other batsmen failed to get going, as India were all out for a below-par total once again.

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