To overcome his poor luck at the toss, South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis on Saturday brought Temba Bavuma as proxy captain in the third and final Test against India at the JSCA Stadium in Ranchi. But even Bavuma could not help du Plessis as the captain lost his 7th consecutive toss in Tests, and the 10th on the trot in Asia.
Meanwhile, after winning the toss, India skipper Virat Kohli could not hold his laughter before choosing to bat for the third time in the series.
“It shows that it isn’t meant to be (win the toss with a proxy captain),” du Plessis said.
Unimpressed with du Plessis’ idea of coming out with a proxy captain, former South African cricketer Graeme Smith said, “It was a quirky moment but for me it was a little bit pathetic”. He was speaking on the pre-match show for the official broadcaster.
“It just shows the mindset of the South African side. I didn’t enjoy seeing that. I would rather see the South Africa captain stand there, own his position.”
“You know, they are looking at the wrong places for the reasons they have lost the game. Unfortunately, they haven’t played well enough. Yes, winning the toss in the sub-continent is a nice thing to do but if you play well enough, you can still compete,” he added.
It is to note that South Africa have already lost the series to India after losing Visakhapatnam and Pune Tests by 203 runs, and an innings and 137 runs, respectively.
However, they would be looking to open their account in the World Test Championships in the ongoing final rubber.