Cape of good hope: Indian bowlers face tall task as Rohit seek redemption in second test against SA

CAPE TOWN: Rohit Sharma, the leader, will need to channelise the champion tactician that resides in him as India looks to restore parity against South Africa and remain consequential in the World Championship points table when the second Test starts here on Wednesday.

India is sixth in the nine-team table with 14 points (38.89 PCT) and a defeat will dent its standing further. Ravindra Jadeja, India’s “Most Valuable Player” across formats, will come back to add the requisite middle-order batting balance and steady overs with the old Kookaburra but it will be the skipper’s choice of third and fourth speed merchants that will define the embattled team’s response.

As harsh as it might sound, no one knows more than Rohit that Prasidh Krishna is pretty undercooked to counter the vagaries of Test cricket and Shardul Thakur’s bits and pieces talent will not win him much on most days. But with three top-order batters, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer compounding the team’s worries with their ineptitude while dealing with the bouncer barrage, Shardul’s presence gives the side an assumption of batting depth on paper. Save KL Rahul in the first innings and Virat Kohli in the second essay, none of the Indian batters could cope with the extra bounce and lateral movement at Centurion.

With one loss and one draw in three Tests in the new World Test Championship cycle, India would be desperate for a win, which will be easier said than done at the picturesque cricket stadium where the visitor has lost four of its previous six games.

The last six weeks of 2023 haven’t exactly been kind to Rohit, who is still trying to pick up the pieces after India’s World Cup final defeat. That final and Rohit have become a tragic love story, and what has added humiliation to the mix is the two and half day defeat at Centurion in the run-up to the New Year. The skipper stood as exposed tactically as his batters and bowlers were found to be inept technically in an innings and 32 run defeat.

There would be no better way to start 2024 than a win at the Newlands ground with the breathtaking Table Mountain adding to the scenic backdrop.

But South Africa has had an upper hand against India at this venue and Dean Elgar, who would captain South Africa in his last Test appearance wouldn’t want that Rohit becomes the second skipper after Mahendra Singh Dhoni to at least draw a Test series in the Rainbow Nation.

The toss will be crucial at Newlands which is recording temperatures of 33 to 34 degrees and despite decent grass covering, the pitch will be a batting paradise with little help for spinners from either side. It will therefore not be prudent to retain Ravichandran Ashwin given that Jadeja is fit and available for selection.

However, Rohit’s biggest decision as skipper would be whether to rely on his specialist batters and replace Shardul and Prasidh with Mukesh Kumar and Avesh Khan.