The major talking points as India look to rebound from the disappointing defeat in first Test on dryer Cape Town pitch that could favour spin Day 3 onwards.
With the Table Mountain in the background, India have an uphill task of mounting a comeback in the second and final Test against South Africa in Cape Town. Having been outplayed across all departments in Centurion, they face plenty of questions with regards to their team combination and balance. Here are the talking points:
Batsmen shown faith:
In both the innings at Centurion, India’s batting unit failed to cope with the bounce and seam movement. In conditions where they were supposed to be compact and tight, they were guilty of failing to do the basics. Given this is a batting unit that is in transition, India will not be seeking reinforcements unless they are forced because of anybody’s unavailability. So in that case, Abhimanyu Easwaran will spend another game warming the bench.
So where to expect changes?
Definitely on the bowling front. Shardul Thakur, who was hit on the shoulder a couple of days back at a training session, isn’t ruled out of the game. But with Ravindra Jadeja, who missed the first Test with a back spasm, fit and available, India have a few calls to make not just with regards to the make up of the bowling combination, but also the personnel.
Is there space for both Ashwin and Jadeja?
Despite fielding two spinners in Australia and England, India have not fielded two spinners traditionally in South Africa. When it comes to just one spot in SENA countries, India have been inclined to Jadeja, since he offers something different as a left-hander and is seen more as a batting all-rounder rather than a bowling all-rounder. The southpaw, though, has previously played only one Test in South Africa and has missed the last four with injury. Ashwin, on the other hand, has played seven Tests, but hasn’t been as effective in terms of wickets as in other places.
However, Cape Town is seen as a venue where the pitch could get dry and the cracks could open up from Day 3. And unlike Centurion, there isn’t much grass cover. Prasanna Agoram, who is working with the Lions team on South Africa’s domestic circuit, offered this on X: “Dry grass has been watered for a couple of days. Grass will come off and the cracks will open up and spinners will come into play later on. Will be interesting to see what combination India will come up with,” with a photo of the pitch accompanying the post.
While the conditions may not fit both, there are pros and cons as well. At Centurion, India’s biggest issue was streaming the run-flow and bowl dot balls that could generate pressure. With the pace attack being inexperienced, playing two spinners with experience on their back may not be a bad idea after all. They will also strengthen the batting. The downside of playing both is, there is a strong chance that one of them is under-bowled.
What about the pace attack?
Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj would definitely start. But given how Prasidh Krishna struggled on his debut and Shardul Thakur’s expensive outing (went at over 5 RPO), India are pondering whether to include Mukesh Kumar. They have also added Avesh Khan, a seamer who is considered a natural fit to the red-ball, to the squad. One of Avesh’s strongest suits is to bowl long spells. With his ability to use the shoulder more, he could get a look-in if India believe he can complement Bumrah and Siraj.
On the eve of the Test, skipper Rohit Sharma backed Prasidh to do well in these conditions, which means India could repose faith in him and if they play three seamers, he could well be in the XI. But if India chose to go with four seamers, then they have to pick between Shardul Thakur, Mukesh Kumar and Avesh Khan. With not much grass on the pitch, Shardul may not be handy to the conditions. Mukesh is again a seamer, who may not be able to extract bounce off the pitch, so will India be tempted to play Avesh?
