Ngidi and Rabada make mark for Proteas but no shared magic

18 years ago, the Proteas thrilled the Wanderers against New Zealand by having two young black fast bowlers, Makhaya Ntini and Mfuneko Ngam, bowling together.

It was pretty compelling stuff.

Those memories came flooding back on Sunday when South Africa were dismissed for 335 in their first innings of the second Test against India in Centurion.

The scene was set for history to repeat itself: Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi, ready to terrorise.

In a way, that objective was achieved to an extent as India ended the day on 183/5.

But the fairy tale many had wanted didn’t happen.

Rabada (1/33) and Ngidi (1/26) did bowl together for eight overs but the overall impression was that they contributed separately from each other.

Ngidi, on debut, made an immediate impact with an excellent run out.

Cheteshwar Pujara flicked a delivery just to the right of the 21-year-old Titans rookie at mid-on and fancied a single.

Yet Ngidi, on his knees, swivelled brilliantly and hit the stumps on the bounce.

He had only one to aim at.

With the first ball of his second spell, Ngidi would’ve had the key wicket of Virat Kohli on 71 as his maiden Test scalp but the Indian captain managed an edge before being hit in front.

He didn’t have to wait too long after that as his switch around the wicket accounted for Parthiv Patel.

It was a lovely delivery, aimed at off but moving away as Quinton de Kock completed the grab.

In all fairness, Rabada didn’t have a particularly venomous day but did exploit Rohit Sharma’s front foot technique again by trapping him LBW.

Despite making headway, the Proteas still have to dislodge Kohli, whose unbeaten 85 started brightly before becoming a bit more attritional.

That said, it was still pretty nice to look at.

Earlier, Du Plessis was typically dogged in being at the forefront of South Africa’s defiance with the bat.

He marshalled the lower order pretty effectively in compiling his 63 as the hosts partially atoned for their meltdown at the end of day one.

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