The second Test between India and South Africa ended in an inevitable draw on Wednesday after rain washed out a fourth day in a row.
Only one day’s play was possible, day one, when South Africa were bowled out for 214 before India racked up 80-0. The next four days were washed out to make this the ninth shortest Test in history. Only one Test in India has had fewer overs bowled than the 81 that were bowled in Bengaluru.
South Africa will be most relieved about the result after again struggling to play India’s spinners with anything resembling confidence or competency.
AB de Villiers, in his 100th Test, scored 85 on day one to show his teammates there was nothing special in the wicket or in India’s bowling. He made it looked like he played on a different surface compared to the rest of the batting order.
India are 1-0 up with two games to play with the third Test starting on 25 November in Nagpur.
The Proteas said they were desperate for play to start on Wednesday. ‘We need the practice,’ assistant coach Adrian Birrell said.
In reality South Africa needed more batting practice than anything else, seeing as they haven’t coped well at all with the onslaught from the Indian spinners.
It is the batting which needs some work. Head coach Russell Domingo condemned what he called ‘too many soft dismissals’ in the first innings with only De Villiers mastering the conditions.
He would have been the eighth player to have scored a hundred in his hundredth Test. The last was former Proteas captain Graeme Smith, in the first Test against England at the Oval, when he scored 131.
