CENTURION: Ajinkya Rahane will most likely warm the bench as India prepare for a string of changes to their playing XI for the second Test starting on Saturday. The vice-captain’s omission for the Cape Town raised plenty of eyebrows, considering he has the best numbers among the current squad, in overseas conditions. But, the team-management is not yet fully convinced of his form, and have chosen to retain Rohit Sharma in the middle-order.
Though there was no question of Rohit being benched after one failure, bringing Rahane into the eleven was only a possibility if India preferred to go in with seven batsmen. But that move would have meant no place in the team for Hardik Pandya, the only player to put up a fight in the batting department in the first innings.
However, there are two major changes to the batting department, which was subjected to some hostility by the South African quicks in the first Test. With the pitch at Centurion expected to be bouncier than in Cape Town, Shikhar Dhawan, who looked so out of place, will make way for KL Rahul. The latter is a more compact player than Dhawan, and is better equipped to manage the short deliveries as playing the pull-shot comes naturally to him and will open alongside Murali Vijay.
Speaking ahead of the Test, skipper Virat Kohli said he was keeping his options open despite indicating his feelings at the end of the first Test that he prefers to have left-right combination at the top. The move to play Dhawan did give space to lot of critics as it exposed the middle-order to the moving ball so early. “I don’t think we need to panic because of collapses. People need to apply themselves much better whether we are playing five batsmen or six, you still need to apply yourself.
It doesn’t mean that if you are playing six batters, you can afford to go out and play loose shots. You still need to have a solid technique and go out there and be ready to face bowling spells which are going to be difficult. We need to embrace that,” Kohli said. The other takeaway from Kohli’s interaction was asking the batsmen to play with more intent. This doesn’t mean just playing airy-fairy shots, it can also mean defending and in body language.
Interestingly enough, there is some intent being shown in the composition of the team as well. With Wriddhiman Saha not the best of batsman against pace, Parthiv Patel is the other change. For a player who plays the cut and pull, Parthiv could by very handy on this surface and is known to be more aggressive than Saha. Also, with Dhawan out of the mix, it gives Kohli the left-hand batsman that he seeks in the top six.
That India would make these changes was evident in India’s practice sessions in the lead up to the Test. Though batting sessions are misleading, there were clues in the team’s fielding drills. The fielding coach assembled Parthiv, Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit for slip catching practice.
Though the bowlers did a commendable job, even their balance is likely to be altered to suit the pitch in SuperSport Park. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who was one of the standout performers with the ball in the previous Test, will make way for Ishant Sharma as the wicket here is unlikely to have any movement. With pace and bounce on its side, Ishant will have a prominent role to play as Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah are set to retain their spots and so will Ravichandran Ashwin. India XI (probable): Vijay, Rahul, Pujara, Kohli, Rohit, Pandya, Parthiv, Ashwin, Shami, Ishant, Bumrah.