Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has said that pacer Prasidh Krishna can bowl much better than he did in Centurion. Krishna made his Test debut as South Africa beat India by an innings and 32 runs at the SuperSport Park in Centurion.
India’s tour of South Africa: Full coverage
With this win, South Africa took a 1-0 lead in the two-match Test series, slashing India’s hopes of capturing their final frontier in Test cricket. India has never won a bi-lateral Test series in South Africa, having tried and failed on eight occasions.
Speaking to Star Sports ahead of the second Test, Pathan said Prasidh can bowl much better than he did in the first match of the series. Prasidh gave away 93 runs while picking a soliatary wicket in 19 overs in the first Test.
“Prasidh Krishna can bowl much better than how he did in Centurion. His length could be perfect on South African pictches. If you look at the height that Rabada bowls from, Prasidh bowls a similar length, which is full but not for a drive. But that length was not seen in the first Test,” said Irfan.
He went on to say that Prasidh should look to hit the deck hard if he gets a chance to play the second match of the series. India could be tempted to play either Mukesh Kumar or Avesh Khan in place of Prasidh in the final match of the series.
“It looked like he was trying to bowl loopy deliveries and not hitting the deck hard. If he tries to hit the deck, he’ll get more purchase. Maybe this was the first-match nervousness. He couldn’t make the adjudtement but I’ll be hoping for a better performance if he plays the second match,” Irfan added.
India will kick-start 2024 by facing South Africa in the second and final match of their Test series at the Wanderers Stadium in Cape Town on January 3.
