Former South African gun fast bowler Dale Steyn has urged Yashasvi Jaiswal to take a leaf out of legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s book after he was dismissed after scoring 13 runs against South Africa in the second innings of the second Test at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati.
Marco Jansen once again accounted for Jaiswal when the latter was trying to play a cut shot against the lanky pacer. But the southpaw could not manage an outside edge to wicket-keeper, Kyle Verreynne. This was the third time in the series when Jansen dismissed Jaiswal.
Dale Steyn said on JioHotstar, “It was a bit of a false shot by Jaiswal. It’s his default option – he likes playing that shot. He is probably so used to right-arm bowlers angling the ball across him that playing that shot feels natural. But with Marco Jansen being a left-armer, it looks like the ball will angle away and give him room, but very often it’s tighter than he expects.”
Steyn recalled that Sachin Tendulkar once took out the cover-drive from his arsenal while playing against Australia at Sydney.
“When you see the ball in your zone, you go for it. But maybe it’s something he needs to consciously cut down on. I remember Sachin once removed the drive from his game in Australia. Jaiswal may also need to say, ‘Unless it’s in a specific area, I won’t play it. In this area, I’ll trust my defense’.”
On the other hand, former Indian captain Anil Kumble believes KL Rahul lost his concentration when he was cleaned up by Simon Harmer on the fourth day’s play.
“It was a fantastic delivery by Simon, no doubt. But KL went for the shot without getting to the pitch of the ball. Because of the revolutions Simon Harmer puts on the ball, he got a bit of dip, and the line was perfect. Generally, on a fourth or fifth-day pitch with enough rough, you tend to cover all three stumps because lbw is unlikely from that angle. That’s why I was a bit surprised.
“KL Rahul is experienced. He did take center-stump guard, but his off-stump was still visible… Maybe it was a lapse in concentration. He thought it was drivable, but the ball dipped, credit to Harmer. He looked to drive and ended up falling to a perfect off-spinner’s dismissal,” the former India captain concluded.
South Africa has registered a massive win of 408 runs, which is their second biggest in Test cricket in terms of runs margin.
