Former Indian spinner Murali Kartik wants the Indian batters to bat responsibly on the third day of the second Test match against South Africa and if they get a chance, bat aggressively. South Africa have posted 489 runs on the board to put themselves in the driver’s seat and the pressure is on India to get a positive result in the second game
The hosts had lost the opening game by 30 runs at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Meanwhile, Kartik highlighted that Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal doesn’t have a great record against South Africa whereas urged Sai Sudharsan to make runs against better teams. Sudharsan recently scored a decent 87 runs in the first innings of the Delhi Test against the West Indies.
Murali Kartik said on Cricbuzz, “It’s been a hard day for them and just looking at the playing XI too, how do you go about it? Yashasvi Jaiswal has a great Test record but not against South Africa. So is there a bit of a hangover walking in, where you think runs but also the opposition? Sai Sudharsan is back and he also needs to make runs against better sides because he lost his spot at No. 3. You’ve got Jurel pumped up the order because of no Shubman Gill.”
“Pant and Jadeja, you know what you’re going to get from them, as with Washington Sundar, rock solid. Nitish Reddy is also coming back so they need to find a way to be in the game and if the opportunity presents itself, press forward.”
On the other hand, former South African captain Shaun Pollock said aggressive batters like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant will hold the key for the home team.
“How can India make a challenge of it in the remaining 230-240 potential overs? They are going to have to score very quickly, especially in this first innings. The surface is still good enough to do that. People like Jaiswal and Pant could be key if they could score quickly. Sai Sudharsan, you wouldn’t expect too much from him because he’s just trying to make his way,” said Pollock (via the aforementioned source).
“Jadeja will be positive. KL Rahul will need to anchor the innings. It’s going to be a challenge. South Africa are in pole position and don’t have to force the issue. India have to make the play to level the series. In saying that, you do get points for draws. So they can’t be gung-ho in their approach. Because if they do not perform and throw this Test away and South Africa get two wins, they’ll gather more WTC points.”
India was 9-0 at stumps on day two.
