SA vs IND, 2nd Test: Gerald Coetzee ruled out of Cape Town contest with pelvic inflammation
SA vs IND, 2nd Test: Gerald Coetzee ruled out of Cape Town contest with pelvic inflammation
South Africa have been dealt a huge blow in preparations for the second Test match against India as star bowler Gerald Coetzee was ruled out due to pelvic inflammation. The second Test set to take place on Wednesday (January 3) in Cape Town will see the Proteas star sit on the sidelines as they lead the series 1-0. Coetzee, who scalped one wicket in the first Testjoins captain Temba Bavuma to miss the Cape Town affair. With Coetzee in the team, South Africa won the first Test by an innings and 32 runs in Centurion.
Blow for South Africa
Bowling on Day 3 of the Centurion Test, Coetzee aggravated his pelvic inflammation which saw him pass unfit for the Cape Town Test. He bowled only five overs during the Indian second innings with Nandre Burger and Kagiso Rabada doing the majority bowling shift. His only wickets in the match came in the first innings when he scalped Mohammed Siraj for 5. He will now look to gain his fitness ahead of the New Zealand tour which starts in February.
The injury also puts doubts on his involvement in the SA20 scheduled to begin on January 10. He was recently bought by Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League auctions for $600, 000.
Cricket South Africa on the flip side have opted not to name a replacement with Lungi Ngidi and Wiaan Mulder as fast-bowling options already present in the squad. Keshav Maharaj is another player who can replace the speedster if the Proteas decide to go with a spin option.
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What happened in the first match?
After securing a 163-run lead in their first innings, India were called into bat on Day 3 of the Centurion Test needing a good start. However, those plans were dented as the visitors lost the quick-fire wickets of Rohit Sharma (0) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (5). This was Rohit’s fifth Test duck as he suffers from a poor run of form. The visitors were 13/2 before Shubman Gill (26) and Virat Kohli (76) tried to stitch up a partnership.
Later, Gill and Shreyas Iyer were scalped by Marco Jansen as India were 72/4 with KL Rahul and Kohli batting. With wickets falling at regular intervals, Kohli changed gears and tried to get his hundred, however, his wicket in the 35th over brought curtains down to the innings as India lost by an innings and 32 runs. Apart from Virat, only Gill got into double figures for India as they now switch attention to the second Test in Cape Town.
