The pitch in Visakhapatnam, the venue of the first India-South Africa Test, played a key role in the outcome of the match. The 22-yard strip to be used in the second Test, which begins in Pune from Thursday, is also likely to be a spinner-friendly wicket. At least, so expects Proteas captain Faf du Plessis.
“I know the Indian conditions quite well, the turf is a little bit redder here and in terms of that, it is generally more of a spinner-friendly condition. So we are expecting the ball to spin more here than the first Test,” Du Plessis said during a media conference.
South Africa lost the opening Test of the three-match series by 203 runs. India displayed a dominating performance in the first Test as Rohit Sharma hit centuries in both the innings while spinner Ravichandran Ashwin grabbed eight wickets. That’s not all, opener Mayank Agarwal got a half-century and left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja bagged six wickets in the match as well.
Du Plessis stressed on the fact that there was little time between the Tests and so the players needed to sort out their issues quickly.
“It’s extremely hot conditions here, we spent a lot of time in the field. The thinking is to be as fresh as possible… As I said earlier, there is not enough time to find your answers in the nets now,” the captain said.
“The work has been done before the series, so it’s about trusting that. Today, everyone got good practice, we took a little bit longer than usual as there were only two nets available. The general feeling in the camp is to be fresh for the five days of the match,” he said.
The 35-year-old skipper wants to win the toss in the second Test so that they can put pressure on the Indian side.
“I think it is obvious in saying that in every Test match we would like to start well. If we can start a Test match ahead of India (with some advantage) that would be nice. We, as a team, are very resilient and we always make a comeback,” an optimistic Du Plessis said.
The series is not just a bilateral affair as it is also a part of the World Test Championship. Talking about the points distribution system’s in the Championship, Du Plessis said: “It is complicated. Obviously the shorter the Test series the more points you get. In two Tests you get 120 points and in the five-match series, you have to win 5-0 to get 120 points, which is a bit harder. I have noticed that in this thing you always find holes and flaws in the systems, it is never going to be a perfect system.”
While the contest against India in India is a huge challenge for the current South Africa team, which is going through a transition, all-rounder Senuran Muthusamy is relishing every moment of it. Muthusamy had a decent Test debut in Visakhapatnam with scores of 33 and 49 n.o.
