Jubilant India will take on South Africa at the second test on Saturday in Bengaluru which is expected to be a crackling contest between these two giant teams. The stunning 108-run victory of hosts in the first test has definitely put the visitors on back foot. After winning the ODI and T20 series in India, Proteas also wished to repeat their success in the longest format but India’s spinners completely outwitted them at Mohali test. It’s certain that visitors will also make things difficult for the hosts in the second test to mark their comeback in the Gandhi Mandela Series 2015.
India vs South Africa 2nd Test
Co-incidentally, this is going to be exactly the 100th test match appearance for AB de Villiers. He is set to be the only third South African to represent his nation at longer format of the game alongside his former teammates Graeme Smith and Jaques Kallis. The star batsman AB de Villiers is in sublime form and will definitely look forward to make the occasion more ceremonial with a ton or double century.
Star all-rounder JP Duminy’s presence is set to galvanise South African dressing room. Initially, there were some doubts about his availability but he has been declared fit now. With the left-handed Duminy’s entry, Proteas get the opportunity to strengthen their lower middle order and spin department too alongside Imran Tahir and Dean Elgar. Leg-spinner Tahir is also expected to bowl well in the second test as per his reputation of being a top-class spinner.
Proteas received a major blow to their side when key bowler Veron Philander got injured and ruled out of the 2nd test match. But Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn and Rabada will definitely make up for it and come together as a lethal bowling unit together to restrict India’s strong batting line up from making heavy runs.
Once again, India would heavily depend upon Virat Kohli and the dashing batsman will be looking forward to hit a big knock at Chinnaswamy stadium, Bengaluru which is mostly a batting pitch but supports spinners as well. There are a lot of expectations from Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay to provide India with a solid start.
There are some concerns about India’s star batsman Rohit Sharma too. Though, he is absolutely fabulous at the 50-over format, but he couldn’t prolong his innings at the longer format of the cricket despite having good technique and ability to play offensive and defensive strokes at ease around everywhere in the field.
With the nearby Chennai already inundated with heavy rainfall over the last few days, it is quite sure that Bengaluru will also get affected due to it. According to relevant sources, rain could play spoilsport in this test as the garden city is expected to witness heavy rainfall in the next 2 to 3 days making it almost impossible to say whether the match would continue for five days or not.
Squads: Expected Playing XI of both Teams
India: Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Ishant Sharma.
South Africa: AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla (C), JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Stiaan van Zyl, Dane Vilas (WK), Dean Elgar, Imran Tahir, Morne Morkel, Kagiso Rabada and Dale Steyn.
Tags: 2nd Test, AB de Villiers, Bengaluru, Cricket, India, Preview, Proteas, South Africa, Sports, Virat Kohli
