India will be playing against South Africa for the last time in the ongoing tour on January 03, 2023, in the second test match of the 2-match series. South Africa won the first match by an innings and 32 Runs on the back of a magnificent knock by Dean Elgar and exemplary bowling performances by Kagiso Rabada and debutant Nandre Burger. Except for KL Rahul and Virat Kohli, none of the Indian batsmen seemed prepared for the challenge in the first test match.
What does a win at Newlands, Cape Town mean to India?
The second match is going to be played at Newlands, Cape Town. South Africa has not lost any match in Cape Town against India so far. The best results for India at Newlands, Cape Town are a couple of draws in the years 1992 and 2010 respectively. If Rohit Sharma & Co. wins this match then Rohit will only be the second test captain for India after MD Dhoni to level the series on South African soil.
How’s the Pitch?
If we go by the insights provided by Rohit Sharma during the press conference, the pitch looks similar to what it was in SuperSport Park, Centurion with the only difference being the weather conditions. However, the pitch at Newlands, Cape Town has been a pacer-friendly wicket posing challenges to the Batters. But since the weather is expected to be sunny all day, the pitch is expected to provide some assistance to batters as well if they dig in.
Average Score: 277 Runs
What kind of batters succeed at Newlands, Cape Town?
The batters like Garry Kirsten, Sachin Tendulkar, Jacques Kallis, Brian Macmillan, and Lance Klusener have done well in Cape Town. This means that any batter who can score freely whenever the situation demands while putting a heavy price tag on his wicket at the same time can do well in Cape Town. In the current match, batters like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Dean Elgar, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, and Keegan Petersen are expected to score big.
Probable Playing XIs
South Africa: AK Markram, D Elgar (C), T de Zorzi, Zubayr Hamza, KD Petersen, DG Bedingham, K Verreynne (wk), M Jansen, N Burger, L Ngidi, K Rabada
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, S Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin/Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, JJ Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna
Ideal Playing XI for Dream 11 Grand League
Team 1:
Team 2:
