JOHANNESBURG: All day long Friday, a spiteful Wanderers pitch evoked strong reactions in people.
Michael Holding, the former West Indian fast bowler, here at the Wanderers doing commentary, is convinced that the pitch is 's**t'.
ALSO READ: Play to resume on day four in Johannesburg"This is not a cricket pitch. It is dangerous. Call it off (the match)," thundered the West Indies great soon after Kagiso Rabada, bowling from the Golf Course end - from where the crack on the wicket happens to be just short of good length - hit Indian opener
Murali Vijay's arm. It was moments after the bowler's delivery had hit the same patch and rose surprisingly to inflict some pain on
Virat Kohli's finger.
ALSO READ: Experts criticise Wanderers pitch, term it "dangerous"Sunil Gavaskar, the former India batting legend, doing commentary alongside Holding, also criticised the pitch, particularly because of its two-faced nature leading to inconsistent bounce. However, unlike Holding, Gavaskar was of the view that play should go on.
Former South Africa skipper
Kepler Wessels, added: "It is quite dangerous (pitch) from a batting point of view when you have pace attacks bowling around the 140-kmph mark. It is dangerous and it is not ideal".
Meanwhile, Kohli batted like he was playing on a different pitch altogether. Vijay batted like his life depended on it.
Ajinkya Rahane simply made it look easy. In the middle of all the talk surrounding the surface - one that was certainly not a safe one, and should certainly receive a certificate tagging it unfit from the International Cricket Council (ICC) - India continued to put runs on the board.
They grinded out every minute of their stay at the crease, taking body blows, leaving whatever they could and playing only to score, even as social media was abuzz on what was awful about this track.
At one time, when the ball yet again rose sharply to hit the handle of Rahane's bat, the umpires had a word with the batsman but everybody in the Indian dressing room, and Rahane, alongwith
Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the middle, wanted to bat on.
India batted with intent to put a target on board that South Africa would find difficult chasing on this deteriorating track.
South Africa walked in with around 15 overs remaining for the day and on the first ball of the third over, a Bhuvneshwar delivery hit
Dean Elgar's right hand, causing him to flinch immediately, needing medical attention. It was the same end from where Rabada had been running in.
The umpires once again spoke with Kohli. The Indian captain would not budge.
India did the hard yards on a track that was as treacherous, and will now want their share of glory from here.