The Indian team is yet to win a Test series on South African soil, however, former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar believes the visitors can break the jinx this time.
The Rohit Sharma-led Indian team will play South Africa in a two-match Test series. The first match will be played at the SuperSport Park in Centurion where the visitors, batting first, did not have a pleasant day on the first day of the match. Team India finished the day’s play at 208/8 with KL Rahul and Mohammed Siraj at the crease.
Sunil Gavaskar, while speaking on Star Sports, stated that the South African batsmen have not been in the best form, so India has a better chance of winning the match.
IND vs SA: Sunil Gavaskar confident of India’s first Test series win in South Africa
Sunil Gavaskar said on Star Sports: “I think they will because I think South Africa is not exactly the same. Also, the South African batsmen are not quite fit and that gives India an excellent chance to win this game.
“The Indian batsmen, on the other hand, have been in excellent form in all the matches. As you have seen, they have experience on their side as Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have played here many times before. So, clearly, I think India will ring in the New Year with a victory.”
The Indian team had one of the best chances to register their first Test series wins in South Africa last time as they had won the first match in Centurion; However, with defeats in Johannesburg and Cape Town, the Indian team lost another Test series.
IND vs SA: KL Rahul – The Lone Warrior
While it was KL Rahul, who played an important role in scoring an unbeaten 70 runs on Day 1 of the first Test match in India’s comeback, the Indian team has the best chance of reaching close to 300 on Day 2. and then delete. The South African batsmen quickly made a solid comeback in the match.
Day 1 did not start well for India as they lost three wickets in the first session – captain Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal. Sharma and Gill returned for 5 and 2 runs respectively, and Jaiswal came out for 17 runs.
Indian batsmen Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer showed some fight as they added 68 runs for the fourth wicket. Virat on one side scored 38 runs and Iyer got out after scoring 31 runs. After the departure of both batsmen, KL Rahul and Shardul Thakur showed some courage and added the required 43 runs for the seventh wicket in which Thakur played a brave 24-run knock.
With KL Rahul in the crease on day two, the Indian team will try to go as far as they can and then come out and bowl a practical first session for the Proteas batsmen. With the pace and bounce of the Centurion pitch and the overcast conditions, it won’t be easy for South Africa to take on Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.
