Day 2 of the Centurion Test was washed out due to rain and bad weather. Meanwhile, day 2 presents a great opportunity for the Indian team to build on the good work that they did on the first day of the Test match. Former South African skipper Shaun Pollock while speaking to Cricbuzz, spoke about how India might approach the third day.
Pollock said that India will be in a “trump position” if they get past 400 in their first innings. He further added that India posting a big total will automatically put the hosts under “immense pressure”.
“This ground is not great; when the rain comes here, it comes properly. But I think we can still get a result. There’s no doubt that India are in a trump position, they’re sitting very pretty as it stands. It might just force their tactics a touch as to how quickly they have to get the runs on the board. But I think they’ll definitely be thinking if they can post a big score, over 400, there’s no reason why they can’t put South Africa under immense pressure and then try and move the game forward at the back end.”
Pollock further said that the break on day two might work to the advantage of the Protean players. He expects them to be fresh for the third day and also the pitch to have a little more assistance after taking all the rain in.
Rain Break Will Help South Africa In Centurion: Shaun Pollock
“I think this rain break definitely benefits South Africa more than India because of the way the first day was gone, I think they were on the backfoot. At some stage, they might have had to fight for a draw so any time taken out of the game will assist them. It gives their bowlers a chance to recover after a heavy first day and with the covers that have been on, underneath that surface is going to get a bit moist. And in the first hour tomorrow, there will be a lot of assistance with the bowl that’s only 10 overs old. It definitely favors South Africa, this rain break, but there’s no doubt that India is still in a much stronger position.”
India on top in Centurion at the end of day 1
India meanwhile, are sitting pretty in the first Test at Centurion having scored 272/3 after the first day’s play. KL Rahul is batting unbeaten on 122 along with Ajinkya Rahane who has grinded himself to an unbeaten 40.
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