South Africa and India will battle it out once again in the third and final Test of the series starting Wednesday at the Wanderers in Johannesburg.
Having already captured the series with wins at Cape Town and Centurion so far, Faf du Plessis‘ will be aiming for a whitewash while Virat Kohli’s men will be looking to end on a high and salvage some pride.
We look at the key talking points ahead of the final clash between the No1 and No2 ranked Test sides in the world.
RAHANE IN LINE TO MAKE PLAYING XI?
Ajinkya Rahane’s exclusion from the playing XI in both Tests so far has raised a lot of eyebrows. The Mumbai-man, who has been one of India’s best performing batsmen overseas for some time now, endured a miserable run with the bat against Sri Lanka at home prior to the South Africa tour.
That poor form has prompted Kohli to go with Rohit Sharma in the middle-order though the move has failed to pay any dividends so far on the tour. On Sunday, Rahane was involved in an extensive batting session in the nets along with a few others which hints towards his inclusion in Johannesburg.
Whether it is Sharma or one of the bowlers who makes way remains to be seen but for now, all signs point toward Rahane playing.
Rahane has been one of India’s best performers overseas.
INDIA AIM TO AVOID FIRST-EVER WHITEWASH ON SOUTH AFRICAN SHORES
Even though India have never managed to win a Test series in South Africa, they have never been on the receiving end of a complete whitewash.
This is their seventh tour of the African nation and they have been beaten in all save the one in 2013 where they drew. The closest they have come to a complete surrender was in 1996-97 when they lost the three-match series 2-0.
Kohli will be hoping to avoid the unwanted record.
INDIA’S BATTING UNDER PRESSURE TO DELIVER
It has been a disappointing tour for India’s batsmen so far. The Proteas bowling attack has been on top of them all throughout the series as their deficiencies in technique against the moving ball lies thoroughly exposed.
Bar two standout innings – Virat Kohli’s 153 in the second Test and Hardik Pandya’s 93 in the first – India’s batsmen been undone more often that not on the juicy and green pitches on offer.
With a tour of England to come in the summer, it’s important for the Indians to prove that they have the capacity to handle the swinging and seaming ball. They definitely won’t have it easy on the green pitch at the Wanderers.
The technique of the Indian batsmen has been found wanting big time.
PARTHIV, KARTHIK OR SAHA?
Parthiv Patel replaced the injured Wriddhiman Saha at Centurion and while he performed slightly better with the bat, his performance behind the stumps left a lot to be desired with some costly drops.
India have called up Dinesh Karthik too as cover. For Kohli, the choice of glovesman for the Wanderers will present a huge dilemma. Does he opt for the safe hands of Saha if fit or persist with Parthiv? While Karthik’s batting is a big plus, he has not had much action behind the stumps in the domestic circuit having kept in only two first-class matches in the past year.
Patel has dropped some costly catches behind the stumps.
