SA vs IND: 2nd Test, Preview – Confident India seek a historic series triumph
The New Year Test between South Africa and India will be played at the Wanderers in Johannesburg. The hosts are already 0-1 down in the three-match series and will have to win this game to keep the series alive. Wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock’s sudden retirement has also been a blow for the team. However, they are an inexperienced side and put up a fight in the first Test and will be keen to level the series.
India, on the other hand, have a great chance to win the series in South Africa for the first time ever. As expected, the pace bowlers did their job perfectly while KL Rahul’s century was the highlight as well. Having said that, the batting is still a concern for the visitors with the middle-order not clicking. It remains to be seen if India manage to put on a better batting effort in this game.
Match Info
2nd Test – South Africa vs India
Venue – Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
Date & Time – January 3, 2022 to January 7, 2022; 1:30 PM IST
Head to Head
Team News
South Africa
A couple of changes are expected to South Africa’s playing XI. Kolpak returnee Duanne Olivier is set to make a comeback after missing out in the series opener. He will most probably replace either Wiaan Mulder or Marco Jansen who made his Test debut in Centurion. Also, there are two wicketkeepers in the squad, Kyle Verreynne and Ryan Rickelton, who can replace De Kock. Verreynne is likely to get the nod having played a couple of Tests already in his career.
India
India have no reasons to change their winning combination. But the forms of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane continue to remain a concern. Pujara bagged a duck in the first innings and then scored 16 in the second while Rahane looked confident in both his outings scoring 48 and 20 before throwing his wicket away. India batting coach Vikram Rathour hinted that the management is not so worried about their form which means the under-fire duo will get at least one more chance.
Probable XI
