"We wanted them to really grovel": Conrad explains South Africa's ruthless declaration strategy

Guwahati (Assam) [India], November 25 (ANI): South Africa wanted to make India grovel and force them to spend far more time on the field than they would have preferred, which is why the visitors batted an hour into the third session on day four of the Guwahati Test. By stretching their lead to 548 before declaring, they effectively shut the door on any possibility of an Indian victory, as per ESPNcricinfo.

This was head coach Shukri Conrad's reasoning when asked why South Africa felt the need to set India a target far beyond the record chase of 418, especially in a series they already lead 1-0.

"We obviously looked at how best we were going to use the new ball, because in the morning we still wanted a newish, hardish ball," Conrad said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.

"What we felt is that when the shadows come across the wicket in the evening, there's something in it for the quick bowlers, so we didn't want to declare too early and not be able to use that," he added.

"And then, obviously, we wanted the Indians to spend as much time on their feet out in the field, we wanted them to really grovel, to steal a phrase, bat them completely out the game, and then say to them 'Come and survive on the last day and an hour this evening.' So, so far so good, but we also know that they're not just going to roll over, we're going to have to be at our very best in the morning," he noted.

South Africa have not won a Test series in India since 2000, nor had they won a single Test since 2010 until their Kolkata triumph last week. With momentum finally on their side, they have dominated the Guwahati Test from day one and were determined to make the most of the situation. Batting first, they recovered from 247/6 to post 489, then bowled India out for 201. Even though they could have enforced the follow-on, the visitors opted to bat again late on day three and continued deep into day four, keeping India on the field for a tiring 229.4 overs. India will begin day five at 27/2 after 15.5 overs, with South Africa needing eight wickets for a rare series sweep.

With 90 overs scheduled for the final day, though poor light has eaten into play on all previous days, South Africa have given themselves a minimum of 106 overs to bowl India out. Conrad admitted that the pitch had stayed remarkably good for batting.

It had taken them 83.5 overs to bowl India out in the first innings, with Marco Jansen's steep bounce earning him figures of 6/48. Since then, Conrad said they had expected the surface to deteriorate a little bit more than it actually has, but felt an earlier declaration would have been pointless. He insisted South Africa would be satisfied with whatever result emerges, even if the match ends in a draw.

"I don't think there's a right and a wrong in anything. We wanted India to come out again after lunch and spend time on their feet. We saw the effects of batting for two full days in the first innings and what sort of effect it had on them," he said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.

"And it was never going to be easy for the opening batters to come this evening, with the new ball and shadows across the wicket. We felt we could have struck there. If tomorrow evening comes and we have them eight down and people say, 'Well, see you told you so'... we've got to base it on our sound judgement and if that doesn't work out, it doesn't. I don't think there's a right and wrong in any of this but obviously, 2-0 is a lot better than 1-0. I'd like to think that the series is secured and we're going to go all out for the win," he noted.

The pitch still offers good bounce and Conrad believes his bowlers can make the most of.

"Hopefully Marco and the spinners can do the job tomorrow. We're going to give it our best shot," he said.

While Jansen's wicket-taking skills are well established, it is South Africa's spinners who have been in the spotlight over the past two months during the tours of Pakistan and India. Senuran Muthusamy, who hasn't bowled yet in this match, was player of the series in Pakistan with 11 wickets in Lahore, while Simon Harmer is the joint-highest wicket-taker in this India series.

"For the first time, we've thrown our weight behind spin bowlers. We've got quality spinners that can mix it with the best in the world and I believe we've got the balance of our sides right," he said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.

"The big thing for me is that it provides hope for young spinners back in South Africa, where we were primarily seen as a country that just throws its weight behind fast bowling. I'd like to think that the young spinners back home are saying there's hope for us now, because spinners are also part of the armoury for Proteas' attack," he noted. (ANI)

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