Against South Africa, in the first session of the first day of the second and final Test, Team India bowled brilliantly. In Cape Town, the hosts scored the lowest total against an Indian squad in Test history as India, asked to bowl, completely destroyed the Proteas batting lineup, dismissing them for just 55.With remarkable figures of 6/15, Mohammed Siraj emerged as the first innings’ star, followed by Jasprit Bumrah and Mukesh Kumar with two wickets each.
Despite suffering a humiliating innings-and-32-run defeat in the opening Test of the series in Centurion, India did not appear to be under pressure. Aiden Markram was caught at slip for two in the fourth over, signaling the start of the batting collapse.
The Proteas failed to hold on, even after a brief 19-run stand between David Bedingham and Kyle Verreynne for the fifth wicket. Siraj removed Bedingham and Verreynne in ten deliveries, the latter scoring the highest score for South Africa with fifteen. At that point, Keshav Maharaj entered the batting order, and the song “Ram Siya Ram” started to play over the Newlands in Cape Town.
Remarkably, when the same song was playing when the South African superstar reached the crease during the ODI series, Maharaj and KL Rahul shared a touching moment. The song was then played for Maharaj, as Rahul had pointed out to him every time he batted. Maharaj nodded “yes,” and Rahul smiled broadly.
