“Gets Easier After Seeing Through 1st Session” – AB De Villiers on Cape Town Pitch Used in IND vs SA 2nd Test

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Former South African cricketer AB De Villiers has said the Cape Town wicket "was pretty stock-standard" and gets easier once the batters have seen off the first session of the day's play after India vs South Africa 2nd Test at Newlands ends in 1.5 days.

After 23 wickets fell on day 1, 10 wickets fell in one and half sessions at Newlands during the week as India registered a 7-wicket win, their first Test victory at the venue level the series 1-1.

Opting to bat, South Africa were bowled out for 55 inside the first session on day 1 after Mohammed Siraj wrecked havoc on the hosts batting order with a six-wicket haul. The Proteas also lost seven of their second innings wickets in the first session of day 2.

Understandably the pitch received a lot of criticism from all corners as 33 wickets fell in five sessions of the Test match. While some asked why only spinning tracks receive flak, De Villiers said the wicket in Cape Town was something similar to the ones he played on and scored centuries.

"It (Cape Town) was a pretty stock-standard wicket in my opinion. I remember jumping around there on Day 1," De Villiers said on his YouTube channel.

"If you can just get through the first session on Day 1, it gets easier. If you see the players who were playing their shots and not hanging around, they were the ones doing well."

Aiden Markram scored a splendid century on the wicket with a very aggressive style of play. India also were on the attack in their run chase as Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal scored at brisk pace.

Apart from Siraj, the other quicks also made telling contributions with Jasprit Bumrah picking a six-wicket haul in the second innings, and South Africa's Kagiso Rabada also claimed a 5-wicket haul in India's 0 for 6 collapse at 153 in the first innings.

De Villiers also recalled England all-rounder Ben Stokes scoring a double hundred at the venue and added that the batters can't allow bowlers of the calibre of Siraj, Bumrah and Rabada to keep bowling on the off-stump.

"I remember Ben Stokes scoring a double hundred there. I myself scored some hundreds there. You cannot allow bowlers like Vernon Philander, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kagiso Rabada to keep bowling on off-stump," De Villiers added.

While the Cape Town wicket received criticism, the number of Tests in the series was also a talking point as the marquee series ended 1-1. De Villiers expressed disappointment over the fact that the India-South Africa Test series featured only just two matches, but blamed T20 for the short series.

"I am not happy with the fact that there is not a third Test. You have to blame the T20 cricket going around the world for that. I do not know exactly whom to blame but I definitely sense something is wrong. If you want to see all the teams compete and see who is the best Test team in the world, something has to change," De Villiers said.