Shardul Thakur recorded the best bowling for India against South Africa by taking seven wickets for 61 runs in South Africa’s first innings on the second day of the second Test match at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Tuesday (January 4).
Ravichandran Ashwin who took seven wickets for 66 runs at Nagpur in November 2015 held the previous record. The right-arm medium-fast bowler’s previous best bowling was 4 for 61 against Australia in the second innings at Brisbane in 2020-21.
** South African skipper Dean Elgar made 28 runs off 120 balls with four fours at a strike rate of 23.33. It was his slowest innings against India when played over 100 balls. He was stuck on his overnight score of 11. It took him 32 balls to score his first runs of the morning - at one point, he had faced 47 dots in a row. He broke that sequence with a flicked boundary off Ravichandran Ashwin in the offspinner's first over of the match.
** Keegan Petersen recorded his maiden half-century in the sixth innings of the fourth Test match by scoring 62 off 118 balls with nine fours. His previous highest was 19 off 29 balls with two fours against West Indies at Gros Islet in June 2021.
** Temba Bavuma made his second half-century against India in 11 innings of six Test matches by making 51 off 60 balls with six fours and one six. Overall, it was his 17th fifty in 76 innings of 46 Tests. He also scored one century.
** Kagiso Rabada received his fifth duck in 20 innings of 11 Test matches against India. Overall it was his 16th duck in 74 innings of 49 Tests. He became the first South African to receive five ducks against India. Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis, Makhaya Ntini and Vernon Philander shared the previous record with four ducks each.
DEAN ELGAR’S SLOWEST INNINGS AGAINST INDIA
(S/R - Balls - Runs - Venue - Season - Result)
10.00 - 40 - 4 - Johannesburg - 2017-18 - Lost;
12.50 - 16 - 2 - Visakhapatnam - 2019-20 - Lost;
20.00 - 35 - 7 - Nagpur - 2015-16 - Lost;
23.33 - 120 - 28 - Johannesburg - 2021-22 - Awaited;
23.52 - 17 - 4 - Delhi - 2015-16 - Lost.
BEST BOWLING FOR INDIA AGAINST SOUTH AFRICA
(Figures - Bowler - Venue - Season - Result)
7/61 - Shardul Thakur - Johannesburg - 2021-22 - Awaited;
7/66 - Ravichandran Ashwin - Nagpur - 2015-16 - Won;
7/87 - Harbhajan Singh - Kolkata - 2004-05 - Won;
7/120 - Harbhajan Singh - Cape Town - 2010-11 - Match drawn;
7/145 - Ravichandran Ashwin - Visakhapatnam - 2019-20 - Won.
SHARDUL THAKUR’S BEST BOWLING IN TESTS
(Figures - Opponent - Venue - Season - Result)
7/61 - South Africa - Johannesburg - 2021-22 - Awaited;
4/61 - Australia - Brisbane - 2020-21 - Won (second innings);
3/94 - Australia - Brisbane - 2020-21 - Won (first innings);
2/22 - England - The Oval - 2021 - Won;
2/37 - England - Nottingham - 2021 - Match drawn.
