With the series leveling 1-1 after two Tests, India and South Africa will face each other in the deciding match in Cape Town on Tuesday. Team India has never won a Test series on Proteas soil and Virat Kohli & Co have a golden opportunity to achieve history. Interestingly, the odds are in South Africa’s favor as they have never lost a Test match to India in Cape Town. India will have to secure some first positions to be the best Test team in the world at the moment.
Both the teams have played quality cricket so far in the series and it is the bowlers who have been able to beat the batsmen on the difficult surfaces of Centurion and Johannesburg. South Africa are expected to go into Centurion with a winning combination for the second Test, while India are expected to make some changes with the return of Virat Kohli and the injury of Mohammad Siraj.
Keep an eye on these players in the third Test between India and South Africa:
1. Virat Kohli: The Indian skipper will return to lead the team in the series-decider and ‘Virat Kohli the Leader’ needs ‘Virat Kohli the Batter’ to write history on Proteas soil. The 33-year-old has failed to score a century in his last 23 Test innings and has been under a lot of questions for poor conversions in the latter. He has also faced a lot of scrutiny for his vulnerability to edge balls outside the off-stumps. Kohli desperately needs to bring his A-game to the table to help India claim one of their most memorable victories.
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2. Rishabh Pant: The flamboyant wicket-keeper batsman faced a lot of criticism after playing a flamboyant shot in the second innings of the second Test, which saw his wicket fall to zero. The southpaw first got a snorer from Rabada who hit his helmet visor when he tried to defend awkwardly, and then charged for converting a short ball into a half-volley. The result was an edge for the keeper. In the last 13 Test innings, Pant has managed to score just one half-century, while he was dismissed for one point six times, including a duck in Johannesburg. The southpaw was the hero of India’s emphatic series win in Australia last year and needs to emulate that form in the third Test to silence his critics.
3. Dean Elgar: The South African captain would like to continue his stellar form in Cape Town to guide his team to a series win. The South African cricket team is going through a phase of rejuvenation and a series win over giants like India will surely boost their morale and confidence. Elgar has led the team with his resilience and gritty batting in the first two Tests as he struck a couple of body blows to take out the Indian pacers at Joburg. Elgar has a big task ahead of him on Tuesday which can bring South African cricket back on track.
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4. Ajinkya Rahane: The senior India batsman has been under a lot of questions for his poor batting in the last one year. On the eve of the series decider, Kohli indicated that Rahane would get another chance in the series decider. It is going to be a crucial match for Rahane as it could also be his last for India as youngsters like Shreyas Iyer and Hanuma Vihari are knocking on the door for a place in the XI.
5. Marco Jensen: The fast bowler made his international debut in the current series and impressed many with his fast bowling. He has taken 12 wickets in the first two matches and has troubled the Indian batsmen a lot. The left-arm seamer got rid of India’s stand-in captain KL Rahul on both occasions in the second Test and the Proteas want him to emulate his performance in Cape Town.
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