🏏South Africa vs India, 2ndTest: Newlands, Cape Town - Day 2 🏏

🏏South Africa vs India, 2ndTest: Newlands, Cape Town, 03/01/2024, 1:30PM IST: Day 1 🏏

Questions aplenty for India as SA look to give Elgar the perfect farewell

India have never won a Test at Newlands, and will need to change that if they are to salvage something from this series

This South Africa Test tour was billed as the final frontier for India, and it continues to be unbreachable. Despite rain interruptions and South Africa losing their designated captain Temba Bavuma to injury, India lost the Boxing Day Test inside three days to crash to an innings defeat. As if that wasn't bad enough, India were docked two WTC points for maintaining a slow over rate. The challenge will only get stiffer for them in the second Test at Newlands, where they have never won a Test in six attempts.

The second-innings batting collapse sealed India's fate in the first Test, but it was the bowling that needs immediate remedy. The change bowlers, Shardul Thakur and debutant Prasidh Krishna, lacked control, leaking a combined 194 runs in their 39 overs for just two wickets. Should India bring in Mukesh Kumar or Avesh Khan for Prasidh? Should they drop Thakur to create room for an out-and-out quick or R Ashwin? Or should they simply trust Prasidh and Thakur to tighten up in conditions that could provide appreciable seam movement, especially in the early exchanges? India's think-tank will have to make some difficult choices again, in their quest to save the series.

Elgar already has one hand on the trophy and will be looking to bow out with both his hands on the silverware. In the absence of the injured Bavuma, Elgar will captain South Africa in what will be his final Test. Fast bowler Gerald Coetzee has also been sidelined from the Newlands Test with injury, which potentially opens up a spot for Lungi Ngidi, who missed the first Test. If Ngidi isn't match-fit once again, South Africa could squeeze in left-arm fingerspinner Keshav Maharaj. Nandre Burger has seamlessly stepped into South Africa's team across formats, offering variety with his left-arm angle and speeds north of 145kph.

David Bedingham has also made an instant impact with his batting and catching in the cordon. The emergence of both Bedingham and Burger is a testament to South Africa's depth though they are still coming to terms with the changing landscape of cricket. Test cricket isn't at the top of South Africa cricket's agenda at the start of the New Year, with the SA20 ready to take centerstage. South Africa top cricketers will be in action in the franchise competition in the country while a severely depleted side, led by an uncapped player, will travel to New Zealand for their next Test series. But for now, South Africa will set their focus on sweeping India 2-0 and giving Elgar the perfect send-off.

Newlands Pitch Report:

The playing surface at Newlands provides substantial support to fast bowlers, making batting a formidable challenge, particularly on the opening day of the match. Notably, none of the top eight bowlers with the highest wicket counts in Test matches at this venue are spinners, underscoring the significant advantage seamers enjoy on this track. This statistical observation serves as a testament to the seam movement and assistance the bowlers receive, emphasizing the demanding conditions for batters at the venue.

Cape Town Weather forecast:

The weather forecast for the India versus South Africa clash in Cape Town indicates a dry and rain-free day, with no chances of precipitation expected. The humidity level is anticipated to be around 65%, providing a relatively comfortable playing environment. Additionally, a moderate breeze is expected, with winds flowing at a pace of approximately 27 kilometers per hour.

In the spotlight: Dean Elgar and Shreyas Iyer

It was probably written in the stars. Dean Elgar: Player of the Match in his final Test at his hometown Centurion. Elgar: captain of South Africa in his final Test overall, in Cape Town. Elgar has a strong body of work at home: he averages 48.09 in 81 Test innings. Only Herchelle Gibbs (49.50) and Jacques Kallis (64.65) have a better average than Elgar at home among batters who have played at least 50 Test innings in South Africa. After scoring a hundred at SuperSport Park, Elgar publicly expressed his desire to go out with a bang.

Shreyas Iyer has had his share of troubles against the short ball, but it was the full ball that got him in both innings in Centurion. Perhaps, he was expecting the short ball and was fractionally late to press forward against the fuller ones. Iyer has cemented his place in India's ODI side, but he has played just 11 Test matches so far, out of which only two have come in SENA countries. Iyer will be tested by Kagiso Rabada and Co. once again in Cape Town.

Team news:

South Africa: Temba Bavuma is out with a hamstring strain, so Elgar will captain in his last Test. Keshav Maharaj, whose omission in Centurion was a tactical decision, should be back in place of Gerald Coetzee, who in turn is out with pelvic inflammation.

Probable XI: Dean Elgar (capt), Aiden Markram, Tony de Zorzi, Keegan Petersen, David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Nandre Burger, Lungi Ngidi

India: Prasidh Krishna, who made his Test debut in Centurion, didn't quite deliver on the goods he promised. The tall height, the hit-the-deck type of bowling which looked suited to surfaces in South Africa saw him return figures of 1-93. He could be replaced by Avesh Khan, who is in line to make his Test debut after being added to the squad in the aftermath of the Centurion defeat. Ashwin should make way for Ravindra Jadeja, who missed the first Test with a back spasm. Shardul Thakur is also doing fine after he was hit on his left shoulder during a net session on Saturday.

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma(c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna/Avesh Khan

When: January 2, 2024 onwards, 10:00 AM local/1:30 PM IST

Where: Newlands, Cape Town

What to expect: A full house and midsummer heat, which should take most of the spice out of the pitch. The surface looked less green on Tuesday than it did on Monday. In any case, Newlands tends to offer South Africa's fairest contest between bat and ball. No rain has been forecast for the duration of the match.

Stats and trivia:

• Rabada excels at Newlands
• Elgar is currently level with Daryl Cullinan on 14 Test centuries. If he manages to score one more, he will finish sixth on South Africa's all-time century-makers' list.
• Rabada has a particularly strong record at Newlands - 42 wickets in seven Tests at an average of 20.95. He is now five strikes away from surpassing Kallis' tally of 291 Test wickets.
• India had won at least one Test during their recent tours of South Africa in 2017-18 and 2021-22. The last time they didn't win a single game in a Test series in South Africa was in 2013-14.
• Rohit will look to correct his dismal Test record in South Africa. He has managed only 128 runs in ten innings at an average of 12.80 with a top score of 47.

Quotes

"Drawing the series is not something we are thinking about at all. It's a big occasion for all of us. We are in a fortunate position knowing that we can't lose the series but drawing is maybe as big as a loss for us."

South Africa captain Dean Elgar

"We all get nervous playing the first game. It's understandable but he has good ability to succeed at this level, especially in this format. It's just about showing faith and trust and getting the job done from there."

India captain Rohit Sharma on Prasidh Krishna

Match Info

Match: RSA vs IND, 2nd Test, India tour of South Africa, 2023-24

Date: Wednesday, January 03, 2024 - Monday, January 08, 2024

Time: 1:30PM IST

Venue: Newlands, Cape Town

Umpires: Ahsan Raza, Langton Rusere

Third Umpire: Paul Reiffel

Match Referee: Chris Broad

Venue Guide

Stadium: Newlands

City: Cape Town

Capacity: 25,000

Ends: Wynberg End, Kelvin Grove End

Hosts to: Western Province

HEAD TO HEAD - LAST 5 MATCHES

South Africa won by an innings and 32 runs - 26-Dec-2023

South Africa won by 7 wickets - 11-Jan-2022

South Africa won by 7 wickets - 03-Jan-2022

India won by 113 runs - 26-Dec-2021

India won by an innings and 202 runs - 19-Oct-2019