India have the chance to wrap up their Test series against South Africa on Thursday, when the two sides head to Pune to meet for the second match of the three on the schedule for what is a pretty big week of cricket.
South Africa head into the match knowing they have to find a way to end the home dominance of the Indian side if they are to keep the series alive going into the final match, one of the toughest tasks there is at present.
India
They were not always vintage in the opening match but India maintained this incredible run of form on their own patch which now means they have lost just one Test in their last 30 stretching back to the beginning of 2013. That is an insane record and must give them so much confidence whenever they take the field in their home conditions. That said though, they shouldn’t get into the trap of thinking they are invincible at home as that is when complacency creeps in.
If there is a reason to be critical of the Indian side in that opening match of the series it would be that they let South Africa put up more than 400 in the first innings. Ultimately the end result is the only thing that matters, but it might be that they want to be a little more ruthless in this match if they get the chance in order to make things a little more comfortable for them. Their bowling looked decent enough in the main though so that shouldn’t be a problem.
South Africa
Although they lost that opening match, there were reasons to be optimistic for South Africa in it. To take the game as deep as they did after losing the toss was no mean effort and it should have proven to them that if they can win a toss they can be extremely competitive over the remainder of the series. They will need to make sure they bat the same way they did in that first innings of the opener but if they do that there is enough to take forward with them.
One concern for the Proteas might just be the make up of their bowling attack. I don’t think they got it wrong to go with five bowlers in that opening game but if one of their spinners isn’t going to be effective then it might be worth bringing a seamer in to try and get stuck into the Indians early on in the innings. It won’t take a whole lot more on that first effort for the visitors to have a shot at levelling the series here.
Place 5 accumulators either in a Boylesports shop or online and get an acca free! Click the image above to bet. 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Aware.
Team News
There is no real reason for India to be making any changes to their side for this match. Both units delivered the goods in Visak and in the main their key players all offered something so barring any unforeseen issue the hosts should be unchanged.
South Africa might consider a switch to their bowling attack. Dane Piedt was ineffective with the ball in the previous game and with Lungi Ngidi and Amrich Nortje in reserve it might be the time for the Proteas to utilise one of them.
Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium
There has only been one previous Test match on this ground and in a quirky twist of fate it is the only game that India have lost at home in the last six years. It will be interesting to see what that does for their psyche in this match. It was Australia who were the victors in that Test match which should give South Africa plenty of confidence if they are aware of the situation.
That match was a low scoring one by Indian standards with 285 the highest score in the game. If the wicket favours the bowlers from the outset here then it wouldn’t be the biggest surprise in the world if the tourists are favoured. It may just be that India are all out to put those memories behind them however.
Betting
I’ll go with one bet this week as we look to follow up on the winner from the first Test. I took a performance there and it is that market type I’m looking at here because the match outcome is just not worth going at until we know the result of the toss. You would think whoever wins it will bat and have a huge advantage in the game.
The performance I like here is Ravi Ashwin, a man who took seven wickets in the first innings of the first Test and should build on that over the course of this match. In the only previous Test match here Steve O’Keefe took 12 wickets in Australia’s win while Ashwin himself took seven. He has a performance line of 140.5 in this match so seven wickets will be plenty given that he’ll score with the bat and possibly in the field as well as we go along here. Six wickets will probably be enough in truth so I’m happy to be on the over here.
Tips
Back R.Ashwin’s Performance – Over 140.5pts for a 4/10 stake at 1.75 with 888sport
Back him here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2019
