A special win to round off a special year: Centurion Test review

We review the first Test between South Africa and India – which India won by 113 runs. This was only South Africa’s third defeat in Centurion across 27 Tests.

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Note: Readers in India can now buy Mike Marqusee’s classic cricket book War Minus The Shooting at the Atta Galatta bookstore in Bangalore. They are happy to courier copies to those outside Bangalore if you write in at: Thebookstore@attagalatta.com (You can also tweet at their handle: https://twitter.com/AttaGalatta)

Outside India, War Minus the shooting is available as a paperback and e-copy on Amazon.

Talking Points:

• KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal – and adjusting bat-speeds across formats
• India’s bowlers adjusting to the conditions – and finding the right length to bowl
• Bumrah’s trick-shots, Shami’s consistency, Siraj’s relentlessness
• Temba Bavuma’s strokeplay – and how his Test record is similar to KL Rahul’s
• Rahane’s 48 – an innings in keeping with his style of attack
• Pujara and Kohli – and the expectations from each
• Playing Ashwin v playing an extra fast bowler
• Quinton de Kock’s sudden retirement from Tests

Participants:

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview)

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Ashoka (@ABVan)

Related:

• The Wrong Model – Kartikeya Date on the contest between bat and ball – A Cricketing View substack
• Javagal Srinath on Jasprit Bumrah – Sandip G – Indian Express 
• Leave it to KL – Karthik Krishnaswamy – ESPNcricinfo
• Could de Kock retirement breathe new life into CSA-players’ relations – Firdose Moonda – ESPNcricinfo
• The Ashwin interview – Sidharth Monga – ESPNcricinfo
• The open-chested predator – Sriram Veera – Indian Express
• The fast bowler’s snarl ft. Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav – Karthik Krishnaswamy – ESPNcricinfo

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Lead image from here.