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South Africa's head coach Shukri Conrad said they wanted India to 'grovel' while explaining his side's late declaration on Day 4 of the Guwahati Test. Conrad revealed that they batted for an extended period as they wanted the home side to spend as much time on the field as possible and also have a newish ball for the first session on the final day.
The Proteas' decision to bat even after lunch came under the scanner, given the pitch hadn't shown signs of deteriorating a lot. Despite having a lead of 508 at lunch, the tourists came out to bat, but declared after Ravindra Jadeja dismissed Tristan Stubbs for 94.
Speaking at the end of Day 4, the 58-year-old explained, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo:
"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. 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.
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"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."
With an improbable 549 to win for India, Marco Jansen and Simon Harmer struck, removing Yashasvi Jaiswal (13) and KL Rahul (6), respectively. It left the hosts at 27/2 in 15.5 overs, leaving them another 522 to get on Day 5.
"We saw the effects of batting for two full days in the first innings" - Shukri Conrad on South Africa's performance
Conrad suggested that their judgment was sound, given how Jaiswal and Rahul didn't look in their elements while opening the innings. He added, as quoted by PTI:
"Their bowlers spent a lot of time out there. We saw the effects of batting for two full days in the first innings and what sort of effect it had on them. Yeah, it was never going to be easy for the opening batters to come this evening (with) especially new ball shadows across the wicket. So if tomorrow evening, it comes that we have them eight down and people say well see 'we told you so'. Well, I mean we have got to base it on our sound judgment and if that doesn't work out well, it doesn't."
Even if the hosts draw the Test, they will still have lost the series to South Africa, who have a 1-0 lead.
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