On a day where South Africa showed a lot of dominance with the bat and ball to completely put India on the mat during the second Test of the two-match series at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati, their head coach, Shukri Conrad, ended up making a racial comment in the press conference at the end of the day’s play.

It was a needless and surprising statement from someone who perhaps would be much more emotionally connected with the word, as Conrad expressed their desire to make India grovel. They set a target of 549 runs in the fourth innings to chase for the Rishabh Pant-led side before the hosts lost both their opening batters, Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul, in the first 40 minutes.

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“We wanted India to spend as much time on their feet out in the field. We wanted them to really grovel, to steal a phrase, bat them completely out of the game and then say to them, well, come and survive on the last day and an hour this evening.” Conrad was heard addressing this in the post-day presser.

Shukri Conrad’s racial ‘grovel’ comment sparks speculation in IND vs SA 2nd Test in Guwahati

To grovel means to lie or crawl abjectly on the ground with one’s face downwards, as something that Greg, who was of white heritage of South Africa, had said in reference to the Caribbean players in their painful history of slavery and the apartheid in the Rainbow Nation.

“There were a few factors. We obviously were looking at how best we are going to use the new ball, so that in the morning, we still get a newish, hard ball. We felt that when the shadows come across the pitch in the evening, there's something in it for the quick bowlers. So we didn't want to declare too early and not be able to use that.” Conrad added.

“So far so good, but we also know they are just not going to roll over. We have to be at our very best tomorrow, but those are the factors that we considered here.” Conrad shed light.