Highlights, India vs South Africa, 2nd Test, Day 1 at Centurion: India make strong comeback

Hello and welcome to the live blog of the second Test between India and South Africa at Centurion. I, Suvajit Mustafi, will be bringing all the live updates, highlights as well as interesting posts from the social media universe. The first Test was played at a fast bowlers paradise. It had movement that assisted the bowlers while there was bounce that the batsmen could make use of. Centurion, too, might have a similar kind of pitch to offer. Not quiet in terms of movement but pace and bounce. Centurion pitch curator Bryan Bloy mentioned that the track will be ‘lively’. 

India have lot to ponder about. Will Ajinkya Rahane and KL Rahul be included? The chances of the latter’s inclusion is high as he had an extended net session. Several former cricketers have unanimously voted for Rahane and Rahul. Kohli, however, shut the critics in his pre-match conference. Kohli said: “outside opinions do not form playing XI. It will be interesting to see what is the composition that Kohli would settle for in the second Test.”

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Wriddhiman Saha is down with a hamstring injury and Parthiv Patel may get a game, while Ishant Sharma is expected to replace the in-form Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

On the other hand, Faf du Plessis will hope for a series win at a venue where the hosts are barely threatened. However, South Africa will have to bring in a reliable pacer in place of injured Dale Steyn.

Squads: 

India: Virat Kohli (c), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Lokesh Rahul, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Parthiv Patel

South Africa: Faf du Plessis (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Vernon Philander, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Temba Bavuma, Theunis de Bruyn, Andile Phehlukwayo, Duanne Olivier, Lungisani Ngidi