In what could very likely be the last Test tour of South Africa for Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid, the team fell behind in their aim to conquer the “final frontier” on Day 1 itself in the first Test in Centurion.
Dismal batting shows on either side of an insipid bowling performance meant India lost by an innings. Perhaps for the first time since Lord’s 2018, India’s bowling looked so toothless.
Although the chance of winning the series is gone, India can square the series in Cape Town, the venue for the New Year’s Test. But changes should and must be made to the side that featured in Centurion.
Captain Rohit Sharma should make these two changes in the Indian team for the 2nd Test vs South Africa:
Ravindra Jadeja to replace R Ashwin
This one is pretty straightforward. A certain starter in India’s Test XI, Jadeja missed the first Test in Centurion due to spasms on the morning of the game. He did some warm-ups while being away from action in Centurion, and is very likely to return to India’s playing XI for the second Test in Cape Town.
It must be admitted that R Ashwin bowled well – 1/41 in 19 overs with 6 maidens – in Centurion, which is a venue that has been the least supportive for spinners in South Africa in the past decade. However, Jadeja should slot in straightaway for Ashwin: Jadeja is a much bigger upgrade as a batsman on Ashwin and could be relied upon to do the holding role that Ashwin did.
The Shardul Thakur experiment must be ditched now
It seems very likely that either one of Shardul Thakur or Prasidh Krishna will make way for Mukesh Kumar or maybe even Avesh Khan, who took a 5-wicket haul against South Africa A and has 154 first-class wickets at an average of 22 in 39 first-class matches, which is three times the experience of Krishna.
India have preferred Shardul at number 8 even over the likes of Ashwin and other proper seamers because he also offers something with the bat. However, he has been terrible in his first skillset for a while: since his 7-fer at Johannesburg in January 2022, Shardul has taken only 7 wickets in 8 innings at an average of 56 and economy of 4. His batting contributions are more than offset by his poor bowling show in neither being able to hold the runs nor take wickets.
Shardul and Krishna both were poor with their lengths in particular, leaking 194 runs in 39 overs at a combined economy rate of 4.9. This meant that the pressure created by Bumrah, Siraj, and Ashwin wasn’t backed up properly or went utilized. It also allowed the Protea batters, in particular Dean Elgar, who batted for 425 minutes, to cautiously see off the threat of the three senior bowlers and take on Thakur and Krishna.
Mukesh has similar attributes to Shami – in regards to his upright seam position and good control over his lines and lengths – but lacks pace. Avesh has good pace, can extract more bounce than Mukesh and Shardul could, and has hit-the-deck attributes like Krishna. However, seeing Krishna’s performance on his debut, would Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid be willing to take a punt by giving Avesh a debut in Cape Town?
India must trust the genuine pacers more here; with Jadeja boosting the batting, India can afford to lose Thakur’s batting and instead get in a genuine pacer. Krishna might just hold on to his place and Mukesh could replace Shardul.
Also Read: IND vs SA 2nd Test: Virat Kohli Batting Stats And Records In Cape Town
