IND vs SA: Sunil Gavaskar lashes out at Siraj for injuring Bavuma in 'needless' attempt

The Indian cricket team, led by skipper Virat Kohli defeated South Africa by a massive margin of 113 runs in the first Test match and earned their first victory in the iconic Test venue at Centurion. While India made headlines for their all-round show in the match, legendary Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar, while commentating on the Centurion Test, expressed his views on an incident during the match when Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj hit the Proteas vice-captain Temba Bavuma with the ball, in an attempt to run him out. The attempt was labelled needless by Gavaskar, as he mentioned that Bavuma didn’t even attempt for a run.

Sunil Gavaskar's thought on Mohammed Siraj's run-out attempt

Shedding light on the incident during the live broadcast by Star Sports India, the former Indian skipper Gavaskar said, “There was no attempt to take the run. You are a little bit aggressive; you've gotten a bit carried away. But if there was an attempt to run, it would have been understandable. He's there. He didn't take the run. There was no need, absolutely no need for that. Siraj should be spoken to”. The Indian pacer went up to the Proteas batter after hitting him and checked on him. Gavaskar further added that at the end of the day, Bavuma was gracious when he replied with a thumbs up to Siraj.

Watch the needless run-out attempt by Siraj

Indian bowling line-up shines at Centurion

On the match front, the Indian pace attack restricted South Africa on the fourth innings total of 191 runs and took a 1-0 lead in the series. Siraj contributed with two wickets in the second batting innings of South Africa, after picking up one wicket in the first. Meanwhile, Mohammed Shami finished with the figures of 5/44 and 3/63 in both innings, while Jasprit Bumrah took three wickets in the fourth innings, after taking two in the second innings. At the same time, Shardul Thakur took two wickets in the first innings, while Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed two batters during South Africa’s chase.

India will now head into the Johannesburg Test, starting from January 3 with a 0-1 lead in the series. While South Africa look to find answers for the lethal Indian bowling attack, India would be further polishing their skills for the second Test. Following the Johannesburg Test, action will shift to Cape Town for the third Test.

Image: Disney+Hotstar/BCCI