Questions aplenty for India as SA look to give Elgar the perfect farewell
Written by I Dig Sports
Big picture: Bruised India out to salvage series
The second-innings batting collapse sealed India's fate in the first Test, but it was the bowling that needs immediate remedy. The change bowlers, Shardul Thakur and debutant Prasidh Krishna, lacked control, leaking a combined 194 runs in their 39 overs for just two wickets. Should India bring in Mukesh Kumar or Avesh Khan for Prasidh? Should they drop Thakur to create room for an out-and-out quick or R Ashwin? Or should they simply trust Prasidh and Thakur to tighten up in conditions that could provide appreciable seam movement, especially in the early exchanges? India's think-tank will have to make some difficult choices again, in their quest to save the series.
South Africa WWWDL (last five Tests, most recent first)
India LDWLD
In the spotlight: Dean Elgar and Shreyas Iyer
It was probably written in the stars. Dean Elgar: Player of the Match in his final Test at his hometown Centurion. Elgar: captain of South Africa in his final Test overall, in Cape Town. Elgar has a strong body of work at home: he averages 48.09 in 81 Test innings. Only Herchelle Gibbs (49.50) and Jacques Kallis (64.65) have a better average than Elgar at home among batters who have played at least 50 Test innings in South Africa. After scoring a hundred at SuperSport Park, Elgar publicly expressed his desire to go out with a bang.Team news: Fit-again Jadeja could return for India
South Africa (probable): 1 Dean Elgar (capt), 2 Aiden Markram, 3 Tony de Zorzi, 4 Keegan Petersen, 5 Zubayr Hamza, 6 David Bedingham, 7 Kyle Verreynne (wk), 8 Marco Jansen, 9 Keshav Maharaj/Lungi Ngidi, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Nandre Burger
India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 3 Shubman Gill, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Shreyas Iyer, 6 KL Rahul (wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Jasprit Bumrah, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Prasidh Krishna/Mukesh Kumar
Pitch and conditions: Another tough one for batters?
There is a new(ish) groundsman at Newlands, Braam Mong, and this will be his first Test pitch. The surface appeared greener than usual in the lead-up to this Test and the weather is expected to fine for the duration of the game though conditions might get a bit windy. While they could be early juice for the seamers, spinners might come into play as the match wears on.
Stats and trivia: Rabada excels at Newlands
Quotes
"Drawing the series is not something we are thinking about at all. It's a big occasion for all of us. We are in a fortunate position knowing that we can't lose the series but drawing is maybe as big as a loss for us."South Africa captain Dean Elgar
"We all get nervous playing the first game. It's understandable but he has good ability to succeed at this level, especially in this format. It's just about showing faith and trust and getting the job done from there."
India captain Rohit Sharma on Prasidh Krishna
Phone: (800) 737. 6040
Fax: (800) 825 5558
Website: 
Email: 
