South Africa completed a dominant innings victory over India during the first Test match at SuperSport Park in Centurion.
Despite the margin of victory on Thursday, there were areas of concern in SA’s overall performance.
Thus, the Proteas will need to be better in certain aspects of the game in the second Test match at Newlands, which starts next Wednesday.
Cricket writer Ongama Gcwabe highlights where the home side can improve, and looks at possible changes to the playing XI...
Clinical Catching
The Proteas slip cordon of the past, consisting of Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers, was a trustworthy trio that set the bar high for close-in catching in the longest format of the game.
However, of late, the standards have dipped in the Proteas Test team, and with a fiery pace attack in full flow, that is a major worry.
During the first Test at Centurion, Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen and Keegan Petersen put down regulation catches at slip, giving batters such as Shreyas Iyer second lives.
Jansen also put down a catch at gully on day one, while Tony de Zorzi dropped Virat Kohli at square leg.
Though there weren’t any major repercussions from the missed chances, South Africa will have to put on a much better catching display in the second Test.
Middle-Order Runs
Dean Elgar’s ton in the first Test, together with David Bedingham’s maiden half-century and Marco Jansen’s 80-odd runs in the lower order, carried the entire batting unit as Petersen and Kyle Verreynne gave their wickets away to loose shots.
Batting at No 5 and 6 respectively, the batters will need to make a quick turnaround and rectify what looked to be a combination of brain fades and poor shot selections that led to their dismissals in the first Test.
Petersen and Verreynne become even more important following captain Temba Bavuma’s hamstring injury in the first Test.
The two batters might see themselves bat a little higher at Newlands next week as Bavuma has been ruled out, making their contributions in the top-order even more important.
Maharaj Back?
Test coach Shukri Conrad has made a name for himself for making big calls since taking over from Mark Boucher earlier this year, and when he left Keshav Maharaj out of the side at Centurion, regardless of conditions, it was a surprise.
Going into Newlands, will the coach play the left-armer?
Given the success that spinners have enjoyed at Newlands in both international and domestic cricket, Conrad might look to employ the services of the highly-rated Dolphins spinner.
Former Warriors and now Lions spinner Tsepo Ndwandwa picked up a second-innings six-fer against Western Province at the very same ground earlier this year, and given that Maharaj is also a left-arm orthodox bowler, fans at Newlands might just be in for a treat from the tweaker.
Zubayr Hamza’s Return
The stylish right-hander has been named as replacement for the injured Bavuma. It will be almost two years since Hamza donned the Proteas baggy green in New Zealand in February 2022.
The Cape Town-born batter, who is now a Joburg-based Lions player, is set to make a return to the iconic Newlands when South Africa face India in the second Test.
Hamza’s story is one of inspiration, having been banned soon after his last Proteas match for a banned substance, as he worked his way through domestic cricket and has now earned a Test recall.
IOL Sport