When KL Rahul was the last Indian wicket to fall after his superlative 101 on Wednesday, it looked like the first innings total of 245 would almost be a mountain to climb for the South Africans.

That was mainly due to the fragility of South Africa’s batting order and the challenging conditions at the SuperSport Park in Centurion.

For sure Rahul’s innings, adorned with 14 boundaries and four sixes, should go down as one of the best by an Indian in recent times given the tough situation he had to encounter. But India’s bowlers somewhat squandered the momentum Rahul had given the side in the opening Test.

Of course, opener Dean Elgar (140 batting) played a gem of a knock that helped South Africa reach 256/5, a lead of 11 before insufficient light again forced early stumps on Day II. Having said that, what made Elgar’s task easier was the Indian bowlers’ inconsistency and erratic length for a good part of the 66 overs in the Proteas’ first innings.

Agreed, South Africa also benefited from the pitch getting a tad easier to bat on, but there was still enough for the bowlers to exploit with variable bounce noticed during the day’s final session. Hardly any of the Indian quicks could use the seam well, and no wonder, Mohammed Shami was badly missed.

KL Rahul on Day II of the first Test against South Africa at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Wednesday. He completed his second century at the venue. PTI photo

Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj certainly tried their best to put some pressure on the South African batters, but debutant Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur were extremely disappointing. Either being too short or over-pitching, Prasidh and Shardul conceded easy runs to Elgar and debutant David Bedingham (56) as the duo stitched a breezy 131-run fourth-wicket stand, which was crucial to the Proteas’ first innings lead.

Together, Prasidh and Shardul gave away 118 runs off 27 overs with just one wicket. In fading light, Prasidh did manage to take his maiden Test wicket in the form of keeper-batter Kyle Verreynne, but the sloppy show of both Shardul and him were primarily the reason behind India bleeding 145 runs in 33 overs in the day’s second session.

Skipper Rohit Sharma’s ploy to start proceedings with Prasidh and Shardul in the post-lunch session — instead of Bumrah and Siraj — was also baffling to say the least. “On any pecking order, these two (Shardul and Prasidh) would have been the last to start the proceedings (after lunch),” former India head coach Ravi Shastri said on commentary.

“When I was the coach, more often than not, we decided to go with the best two bowlers at the start of the session.”

What also appeared a bit surprising was the Indian pacers not attempting the away-going delivery to Elgar, which tends to create problems for the left-hander.