Aakash Chopra is curious. Will people react the same to the Cape Town pitch? After all, they fuss when games in India see many wickets fall due to sharp turns.
On Wednesday, January 3, South Africa lost the second Test match against India after being bowled out for 55 runs after choosing to bat first. After that, the hosts completed Day 1 with 62/3 in their second innings, bowling out the visitors for 153.
In a video posted on his YouTube page, Chopra asked whether spin-friendly Indian courses will receive less criticism than the Newlands surface. He clarified:
“23 wickets fell in a day. South Africa won the toss and decided to bat first, but what sort of decision? India too wanted to bat first but they (South Africa) couldn’t score even 60 runs in the first innings and they are still behind. South Africa have lost 13 wickets and we also lost 10.”
Aakash Chopra
The former India opener added:
“Is the pitch bad? Should we talk about the pitch because no one does that? There is an outcry if the ball turns in India and 20 wickets fall in a day. The Western media says that India keep winning on doctored pitches but if the same thing happens in South Africa, will anyone say anything or will they be tight-lipped?”
Aakash Chopra
Cape Town’s Test match two saw a high of 23 wickets fall on the first day. This feat was second highest ever. It matched the ground’s record for the most wickets in one day too. This impressive record was previously achieved on Day 2 of the 2011 Test, which was between South Africa and Australia.
Aakash Chopra feels luck is dominating skills on the helpful pitch
Aakash Chopra made the following comparison between the Ahmedabad surface and the Cape Town pitch for the 2021 pink-ball Test match between India and England:
“The pitch has a lot of help. If the ball is turning as much as you are trying to get it to turn, it’s alright. However, if you are bowling straight balls and they pitch and turn, and some go straight, as it happened in the pink-ball Test in Ahmedabad, suddenly batting becomes very difficult.”
Aakash Chopra
According to Chopra, hitters on these pitches depend more on luck than talent. He said:
“Then luck becomes very important. The pitch here is also looking similar. Luck is outshining skill. It’s not right to play on such pitches. The game should be based on skills and not luck-based. I see it as a two-day Test match. I will be very surprised if this match goes to the third day.”
Aakash Chopra
Chances are slim for the Cape Town Test to extend to a third day. With seven second-innings wickets left, the Proteas linger 36 runs behind Rohit Sharma team. While an innings defeat may be dodged, creating a large target to push the game past the second day, no matter the outcome, seems doubtful.