Pune: After being put on the backfoot against India on the first day of the second Test match, South Africa bowling coach Vincent Barnes on Thursday said that the bowlers bowled quite well in the first session.
“The window of fast bowlers was a little longer than Vizag. I thought we bowled quite well this morning,” Barnes told reporters.
“There was grass on the pitch and plan was to go and bowl in good areas,” he added.
India posted a score of 273/3 at the end of day one of the second Test. Pacer Kagiso Rabada scalped all the three wickets for South Africa.
“It was fantastic to see, especially the spell after tea. He bowled very well in Vizag as well and he is getting there. Hopefully, we can see the best of him in the near future,” said Barnes.
In the first Test, India defeated South Africa by 203 runs. On the final day of the Test, pacer Mohammad Shami scalped five wickets enabling India to register a victory before the tea interval.
“In Vizag, we didn’t create enough pressure on India. We had one bowler bowling very well, but there was no one to back him up,” said Barnes.
Earlier in the day, Virat Kohli became the second Indian captain to lead the side in 50 Test matches. The skipper surpassed former captain Sourav Ganguly to achieve the milestone.
Former skipper MS Dhoni has led the Indian side for the most number of times in the longest format of the game. He captained India for 60 matches in the Test format.