SA vs India, 2nd Test, Preview: Will India be able to defy history in Centurion?

South Africa and India will lock horns in the second Test of the three-match series at Supersport Park in Centurion on Saturday. The home side is leading by 1-0 in the series after playing a cracker of a game which effectively finished in three days with one day being washed out due to rain. They will hope to continue in the same vein and seal the series with one more match to go. However, Virat Kohli and his men would be eager to win the game and take it to the decider.

Both the teams were part of one of the most exhilarating Test matches ever at Newlands in Cape Town which ebbed and flowed through all the three days. The hosts though had more venom in their bowling attack led by Vernon Philander. Despite losing Dale Steyn in the middle of the Test, the trio of Morne Morkel, Kagiso Rabada and Philander was enough for the home side to register a famous win. Even the counter-attack of AB de Villiers was excellent which once again proved that he is always ahead of the game.

India, on the other hand, have more questions to answer than their opponents after falling short in the first Test. Surprisingly, the bowling attack looks settled now after a brilliant show on a helpful surface last week. The batting line-up is vulnerable now and were all at sea with their technique against a whirling ball. The likes of Virat Kohli, Murali Vijay have to be at their best if the team has to do well overseas.

Also, they have created their own problems with the team combination by not playing Ajinkya Rahane in the first Test. It remains to be seen if he will be included in the team for the must-win encounter. The visitors are up against a 95-year history as it was in 1922-23 when a team in South Africa went on to win the series after losing the first Test.

Team Combinations

South Africa

The hosts have one forced change to make as Dale Steyn has been ruled out of the series due to the bruised heel. The selectors have added Duanne Olivier and Lungi Ngidi to the squad as his replacement. According to the sources, the latter is most unlikely to be unleashed whose raw pace might trouble the struggling visitors. The traditional pace and bounce in Centurion is bound to help the bowlers of the home side.

Aiden Markram will play in front of his home crowd and is eager take the advantage of home conditions at the top of the order. The middle order is filled with experience as Hashim Amla would want to be amongst the runs after the horrific first Test. In short, South Africa will go for the kill from the word go and dent the confidence of the visitors by winning the series.

Playing XI: Faf du Plessis (c), Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, AB de Villiers, Dean Elgar, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Morne Morkel, Lungi Ngidi, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada

India

There is a selection headache for Virat Kohli and the coach Ravi Shastri as they would guard themselves against making a wholesale of changes just after one game. Shikhar Dhawan is set to be dropped after a poor show in the first game with KL Rahul replacing him at the top. There are also chances that R Ashwin might make way for Ajinkya Rahane with Rohit Sharma getting one more opportunity.

But the onus of the line-up will be on Kohli who has to be among the runs if India needs to stand any chance of making a comeback in this series. There is no reason to tinker with the bowling attack as they did their job perfectly in Cape Town and brought the team back into the game. The team is strong mentally and has come back from hopeless situations in the past but they a classy opponent in front of them whose home record is impeccable.

Playing XI: KL Rahul, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Parthiv Patel, R Ashwin, Hardik Pandya, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami

Focus will be on

Hashim Amla (South Africa)

Mr Dependable of the hosts, Hashim Amla, endured a tough outing in Cape Town as he was dismissed cheaply in both the innings. Amla fails to score very rarely in both the chances and would be itching to make his presence felt in Centurion. He is not a kind of batsman who will succumb to the pressure and his the fans would be wanting to witness his free-flowing drives. Even the team management must not be worrying much about him as he is a class player in his own ranks. His assurance at the top order will more or less decide the outcome of the game.

Murali Vijay (India)

Murali Vijay was tipped as one of the best batsman in overseas conditions for India. But he failed to perform in the first Test but the worrying sign for him was his vulnerability outside the off-stump. His strength has suddenly turned into his weakness. His art of leaving the ball close to the off-stump was somewhere lost at Newlands and South Africans were quick to pounce on his shortcomings. He would want to resurrect his issues soon and contribute heavily to the team’s cause.

Stat Attack

99 – Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav have taken 99 wickets each in Test cricket.

8.5 – South Africa’s win-loss ratio of 8.5 at Centurion is the 2nd best for any team at a venue where they played 10 Tests. (17 wins and 2 losses). Pakistan has a ratio of 10.5 at Karachi (21 wins and 2 losses).

For more updates on SAvIND series, keep following CricTracker