I kept things simple and let the pitch do what it does: Siraj

Newlands: Ashwell Prince has seen a fair bit of cricket at the Newlands, and even he was stunned by what transpired on the opening day. 

South Africa’s batting consultant was shrewd in not criticising the pitch directly, but he did mention several times over that this was the oddest this surface has behaved to his memory. 

“I was here in 2011 when we lost as many wickets in a day (against Australia), but that was mid-game,” he recalled. “This was on the opening day. Never have I seen this pitch play so quick on the opening day, it usually gets faster on the second day. 

“Actually, the biggest concern on this pitch was the up-and-down bounce, this is something I have never seen here,” he added. 

Prince, while subtly critical of the pitch, also reminded those in attendance that such days even happen in India and that the management did not ‘order’ the curator to prepare a pitch of this kind.

While Prince looked flustered, Mohammed Siraj was all fun and games. Then again, why wouldn’t he be after finishing with his career-best figures of 6 for 15 in nine overs? 

“I only did what I knew I didn’t do in the opening Test (at Centurion),” he said in the post-match press conference. “I was not consistent there. Here, I made a conscious effort to keep it simple and let the pitch do what it does.”

“It also helped that (Jasprit) Bumrah was at the other end, keeping it so tight. When you see that, you also focus on keeping it tight and steady,” he noted.