Expected the wicket to help us more: Ngidi

On an otherwise frustrating day for South Africa, it was a profitable Sunday for Lungi Ngidi. He scalped three.

About his twin-strike soon after lunch — Mayank Agarwal and Cheteshwar Pujara off successive deliveries — Ngidi said, “My rhythm got better when I ran in from the press box end. Things started to go my way. I always bowl better from that end and waited for my chance.”

On the leg-before dismissal of Mayank [replays suggested the sphere was missing the stumps but ball tracking showed the ball striking the leg-stump] Ngidi said, “It was a great shout. If anything it was the umpire’s call I thought. But I knew that the ball did not rise as much as my earlier deliveries.”

Ngidi said the Proteas expected more from the pitch. “We were a little disappointed. We expected the wicket to help us more. They were leaving well. To attack the stumps, to attack the pads was our game-plan. You could say that from the field settings.”

He was optimistic about South Africa’s chances. “You got to be patient. Things can happen quickly tomorrow morning. Two quick wickets and the game can turn on its head. We would be into the tail. But we have to be accurate with our length.”

On K.L. Rahul’s unbeaten century, Ngidi said, “Rahul put away the bad balls, defended the good ones. Got a hundred.”

On getting Virat Kohli’s wicket with a widish ball that swung away, Ngidi said, “It was the roll of the dice, it went my way.”