No Demons in Mohali Pitch: Virat Kohli; Lot of Soft Dismissals: Hashim Amla
After winning the first Test in Mohali against South Africa, both Virat Kohli and Hashim Amla said top order batsmen on both sides needed to apply themselves better in this low-scoring match that ended in three days.
While there has been a lot of negative talk on the Mohali pitch, Indian skipper Virat Kohli rebuffed critics by saying that there were "no real demons in the pitch" and it were the "soft dismissals" that highlighted a low-scoring Test match that the home team won inside three days. (Scorecard I Highlights)
On an extraordinary third day on Friday, when spinners from both sides wreaked havoc, Ravindra Jadeja led India's charge by picking up 5 for 21 to help India win by 108 runs. First innings hero Ravichandran Ashwin's 3 for 39 only helped the South African downfall.
"I don't think there were any demons in the wicket, the ball did not turn square at any stage, batsmen had to apply themselves. But basically it was a bowler's game. If you see there were lots of soft dismissals from both ends," said Kohli in a post-match chat. (Shikhar Dhawan Deserves Another Test, Says Sunil Gavaskar)
Chasing a challenging 218 for a win, South Africa were bundled out for just 109 in just 39.5 overs as India took a 1-0 lead in the four-Test match series.
"First Test as captain at home was a special occasion for me, it is a young team and we are building a strong team together," Kohli said.
"Seeing the way things have gone in the past month and half, the way we played here, a lot of credit has to go to the team. We thought if we are finding it difficult on this wicket, it is going to be difficult for them as well," Kohli said, when asked if he had thought 218 was achievable by the Proteas.
150 would have been a fair target: Hashim Amla
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South African skipper Hashim Amla lamented the soft dismissals in both innings. One of the pillars in the team, Amla failed in Mohali and that was a big reason who India won so comprehensively. (Ravichandran Ashwin Slams Media Spotlight on Mohali Pitch)
"I thought 218 was definitely a gettable target but considering the nature of the wicket 150 would have been a fair target. But couple of loose shots from our batsmen didn't help our case," said Amla.
"We were in the game till we lost four or five and put pressure on the lower guys...Stiaan van Zyl showed you could gets runs if you hung in there.
"To get India for 200 was an excellent effort from our bowlers, we kept ourselves in the game till the last session, credit to India for bowling us out," Amla added.
Amla who was cleaned up by Ravindra Jadeja for a duck said he was himself pretty surprised with his mode of dismissal.
"I'm myself pretty surprised at the mode of my dismissal. Perhaps, I had a brain freeze at that moment (to leave a straight ball). But like I said, we just needed to stick it out in the middle," said Amla.