3rd Test, Preview: India eye redemption against South Africa

Bengaluru, January 23: India could not have been blamed for checking into a rage room during the series against South Africa. Few things have gone right for them on this tour.

Team selection. Batting. Running between the wickets. Slip Catching. India floundered in all those core areas. Annoyingly, they could have done better in each of those areas if more prudence was exerted.

Hence the 2-0 series loss is hardly surprising too. But the series is not over yet. One more Test is there to be played, starting in Johannesburg from Wednesday (January 24).

Early arrival in SA could have helped the team: Shastri

Have India been able to iron out those flaws in the seven-day gap between the second and third Test? There is no gainsay about it. But head coach Ravi Shastri's admittance to the lack of practice ahead of the series hurting the team could be taken as a bright portend. Let's look at the team a bit more closely.

Opening gambit

India went with Shikhar Dhawan and M Vijay in Cape Town. They returned with 1 and 16 and 13 and 16. That resulted in KL Rahul replacing Dhawan for the Centurion Test. There was seminal change in the outcome - Vijay 46 & 9 and Rahul 10 & 4 failed to give India the desired start.

So will there be another change?

Keeping it safe

Wriddhiman Saha's injury forced India to select Parthiv Patel and his efforts behind the wickets was mediocre and that being mild. Dinesh Karthik has been drafted into the side despite not keeping wickets regularly for Tamil Nadu in the last domestic season.

So, will Karthik come in for Parthiv?

The Rahane issue

The non-selection of Ajinkya Rahane has attracted criticism from all corners from day one of this tour and this will be the most talked about element ahead of third Test as well. Who will sit out if the team management indeed decides to include Rahane in the playing XI?

Rohit Sharma? He has not done anything particularly impressive in the two Tests. But the fifty he made in the second innings at Centurion might just save his place.

Cheteshwar Pujara? The Saurashtra man 26, 4 0, 19 in four innings. But Pujara struggled to push the scoreboard against a set of nagging South African pacers and his twin run-outs at Centurion has only weakened his case.

Or will Rahane come in as an opener? The Mumbai man opens in one-day cricket. The aggressive minded Shastri affnd Virat Kohli could even think about benching Rahul or Vijay and ask Rahane to open the innings, leaving the middle-order slots intact. It's an extreme choice but not an impossible one.

The pitch

South African skipper Faf du Plessis had expressed his displeasure over the Centurion pitch that offered variable bounce and resembled its sub-continent counterparts in character. In that context, the 22-yard trampoline at the Wanderers sported generous tinge of green till now. There may not be too much relief for Indians on that count.

Bowling

It has been one of the tiny bright spots for India in the series. But it will be interesting to see whether India bring back Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who was benched after a fine effort in the first Test, and Umesh Yadav, who is yet to bowl in SA.

In a nutshell

Rest assured, South Africa will not show any 'dead rubber syndrome.' They will come hard and with familiar intensity. It's for India to find a way to vent the heat of inner rage and disappointment on the field.

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