South African skipper Faf du Plessis has let his bowlers dominate against India in the second Test match starting from January 13 on Centurion. In the pre-match presser, the Proteas skipper admitted that they have demanded wickets with good pace and bounce.
As stated by Du Plessis, the track for the 2nd game is going to be a complete brown patch to assist the pacers during the game. In the press conference, Du Plessis said:
“It’s been learned from the groundsmen that the grass on the wicket has been burnt from the heat over the last week. It was very hot. We’ve asked for pace and bounce so hopefully, we will get that. It is the key thing. If there was a bit of grass on it, it’s fine then we back ourselves. If it was a low-scoring game, we’d want to get 20 or 30 or 50 more. We prepare bowling friendly conditions because we want to win Test matches.”
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The home team skipper also believes that the spinners have nothing to do much on the Centurion track. He said,
” Centurion doesn’t spin that much, but there is a thick layer of ground grass on it, which is not something we’re used to seeing. So it’s an unknown. Hopefully, it doesn’t turn.”
Keeping in mind the nature of the wicket, it will be a huge challenge for the team management to select the lower order of the playing XI, ie, the bowlers. Since Dale Steyn has been dropped from the rest of the series, there is a vacant spot.
“If we decide to go with four seamers then Chris Morris could be one. However, he needs to work on his consistency. Dale, Morne, Philander and Rabada are a step above in that regard. But if we play four seamers he is someone who gets talked about because he has pace and x-factor, and obviously, he bats as well.”
Speaking about the Indian pace attack, Du Plessis said,
“Their bowlers took 20 wickets, but the only part when we were a little bit better as we got more runs in the first innings. I expect another huge performance from them.”
The hosts lead the 3-Test match series by 1-0. Despite a good bowling performance, India lost the first Test in Cape Town by 72 runs. If they want to stay in the series, they need to push themselves for a victory to level the current score in Centurion.
