'Why Scared of Cracks': Dale Steyn's Blistering Remark on Pitch Taking Spotlight After India's Record Test Win

The Cape Town Test between India and South Africa that concluded earlier this week will remain etched in memory for some time to come. It concluded in the blink of an eye with India storming to a seven-wicket win inside two days to draw the two-match Test series.

The inconsistent bounce and the lightning pace proved too hot to handle for the batters from either side with as many as 33 wickets falling in less than five sessions.

The pitch took the spotlight on the Day 1 itself when 23 wickets fell leading to criticism from South Africa batting coach Ashwell Prince.

After the contest concluded in record time, South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad remarked that it was a pitch where one needed luck more than skill.

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Visiting captain Rohit Sharma admitted the surface was challenging to the batters but he didn’t mind playing on it as long as critics keep their mouth shut on turning tracks in India.

South Africa fast bowling legend Dale Steyn has chimed in questioning the hue and cry over the pitch that saw the Test being completed in just 642 deliveries – the lowest ever in the format’s history.

Steyn was responding to a post on X about the curator leaving extra grass on the pitch to make sure the cracks won’t appear early into the contest and how that strategy ‘backfired’.

“Why we so scared of cracks?” Steyn wrote. “Think Sydney, Perth. Cracks so wide you can park a car inside them, and yet they always get to days 4 and 5! Pointless a test being over so fast you don’t even see a hint of a crack. Pitches deteriorate over the days, let it happen. Two day tests are not Test matches.”

The Test win was India’s first ever in Cape Town and it helped them bounce back from the innings defeat in Centurion. The record time in which the contest concluded led to England legend Kevin Pietersen quipping that there’s enough time left to play a decider on the same surface.