Proteas declare they wanted India to ‘grovel’

WHEN the Proteas arrived a fortnight ago, they carried with them the hefty baggage of not having won a Test in India for 15 years, let alone a series since the turn of the millennium.

- ZAAHIER ADAMS.

But such has been the events that have unfolded, that the Proteas could complete a 2-0 clean sweep. The only quibble during the second Test in Guwahati, is about how long they actually took to declare their second innings. It eventually came with an hour of play remaining yesterday, when captain Temba Bavuma called time after Tristan Stubbs’s dismissal for 94 with the Proteas on 260/5, setting India a world-record target of 549.

It caused coach Shukri Conrad to injudiciously reference Tony Greigs infamous “grovel” phrase, which the former England captain made ahead of the West Indies tour to the UK in 1976.

“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.