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In Trouble.
India won the toss and decided to bat first. Virat Kohli’s absence in the playing XI took everyone by surprise. The 33-year-old was ruled out due to an upper back spasm and Rahul took over as the stand-in captain. Vihari has come in the line-up in place of Kohli.
Meanwhile, South Africa has also made some changes. Kyle Varian comes in for Quinton de Kock, who announced his retirement after the first Test. Also, Duane Olivier will replace Vian Mulder.
The Wanderers – One of the famous cricket stadiums in South Africa and also the fort of Team India away from home. Back in 2018, Virat Kohli’s team lost the first two matches but registered a resounding victory to end the series 1-2 in Johannesburg. India had an impressive record at this venue – playing six matches, winning two and drawing four. The visitors have never lost a match here and will look to maintain the track record when they take on South Africa in the second Test of the ongoing 3-match series on Tuesday.
IND vs SA, 2nd Test, Day 1 Live Scorecard & Updates
After a 113-run win at Centurion, Kohli & Co are one victory away from creating history. They have never won a Test series in Rainbow Nation and will break South Africa’s tussle if they win the upcoming competition.
India did well in the first test. Vice-captains Rahul Agarwal and Mayank Agarwal were the picks of the batsmen. While the former scored a century in the first innings, his opening partner also scored a half-century.
The bowling unit was also superb. The likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami wreaked havoc in the Centurion helping India break the South African fortress, while Mohammed Siraj helped the senior pair well. Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who didn’t get a wicket in the first innings, hit a boundary at the end of the game and got a couple out.
A faltering middle-order still remains a cause for concern, despite a resounding victory at SuperSport Park. Cheteshwar Pujara had a poor show in the first Test while Ajinkya Rahane also failed to make an impact. The Indian tail collapsed in both innings, giving the opponents a slight edge in the first Test.
This is the only area that needs to be addressed properly. With Rahul Dravid being the head coach, a proper solution would be expected before moving into the second Test with the aim of winning the series.
South Africa, on the other hand, have a bowling attack to challenge India but their batsmen need to stand up against the bowling line-up of the tourists. The hosts’ batting line-up has been further weakened after Quinton de Kock’s surprise retirement from Test cricket.
Kyle Wren is expected to replace de Kock as the wicketkeeper-batsman but South Africa will be working hard on adding a specialist batsman to replace all-rounder Wynn Mulder. The only point of debate would be whether India and South Africa would both leave their respective spinners, Ravichandran Ashwin and Keshav Maharaj, to launch a quick attack.
The Proteas will have to avoid losing the series a week before the final in Cape Town.
Squad:
India: KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Jayant Yadav, Hanuma Vihari , Priyank Panchal, Shreyas Iyer, Wriddhiman Saha.
South Africa: Dean Elgar (c), Aiden Markram, Keegan Pietersen, Rassi van der Dussen, Temba Bavuma, Kyle Veren (wk), Wynn Mulder, Marco Janssen, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Prenelan Subrian, Beuran Hendricks, Duane Olivier, Sisanda Magala, George Linde, Searle Ervie, Ryan Rickelton, Glenton Sturman.
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