By: Tarish Bhatt
It’s more or less clear that the Nagpur track, which is getting ready to host the 3rd Test between India and South Africa, is going to a dry and spinner-friendly.
Thus, leg-spinner Amit Mishra’s chance of making a comeback into the thick of things brightened ahead of the Nagpur Test after he was dropped from the previous game to accommodate allrounder Stuart Binny.
If Amit Mishra gets a look in, he will add more variety to the already existing potent spin-attack of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
This isn’t a good news for South Africa, who are still reeling under the Mohali loss and that is why India team sees this as a perfect opportunity to wrap the series in style before the Delhi Test.
India are already one-up in the four-match series and that put them in an advantageous position. South Africa too got a golden opportunity to turn things around in their favour during the 2nd Test Bangalore Test.
Batting first, it was a good opportunity to show some authority over the Indian bowlers. But the Proteas allowed it to slip and almost gave it away to the same set of spinners – Ashwin and Jadeja.
Thankfully, incessant rain saved the day for South Africa, as no cricket was possible after the opening day. The only thing the South African that went in their favour was the batting exploits of AB de Villiers.
Like the way he batted during the ODI and T20 series, he posed as the only threat infant of the hosts in the Nagpur Test. Otherwise, the rest of the batsmen have been ordinary.
No one could offer AB de Villiers the kind of support he needs to build big partnerships. Actually, the challenges aren’t as easy as it appears.
The Indian spinners are in great form and they going to hunt for all the South African wickets and on the Nagpur Test pitch, which is somewhat like Mohali’s.
So, it’s important for the Proteas to start the Test well and bat with a positive intent. To stage a comeback into the series, they also need to bat out of their skin.
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