September was a challenging month for India and South Africa: tough weather conditions abandoned the first match in Twenty20 format between the teams on September 15. Heavy rains left no space for cricket in the Dharamsala pitch, so the toss had been delayed accordingly.
What Happened Next at the Twenty20 Series
On September 18, teams met at Mohali and it seemed to be a simple win for India. The team won by seven wickets and looked quite confident on the pitch. It made South Africans get prepared for the next game at Bengaluru, which turned the victory by eight wickets. As stated by the Stumped App, each team proved their readiness as well as defined their weaknesses before the Test Series following in October. All the results and fixtures may be found on the corresponding portal.
What Did the First Test Show
The first days of the ICC World Test Championship took place at Visakhapatnam on October 2-6. There were fantastic five days of cricket, which were not spoiled by the weather despite the forecasts. The hosts showed a great performance, going 1:0 up in the series for now. India Team won by 203 runs, which brought them to the top position in the table.
India played quite well during the first three days, being always ahead of the rivals. Despite South Africans showed a competitive resistance, it was not enough for victory. In particular, Shami, Jasprit, Jaddu, and Ash showed quite a good game. During the final day of the first Test, India took seven wickets just in the first session. Shami took the final wicket and brought the win to Indians. He was announced as the Player of the match.
What to Expect from the Second Test?
On Thursday, October 10, the second Test will take place in Pune. As many people say, it is a hard task to overcome Indians in their native country. The team has an exceptional advantage — they know very well how to play in their weather conditions. However, it is not a hard nut to crack as it seems from the first glimpse. Just remember the defeat of the team in February 2017. However, it was the only one starting from 2013 in Tests: the other 24 games were successful.
Since that disastrous Australian victory, it would be the first Tests in Pune. To repeat the success, Africans will have to show an excellent rounding attack during the first innings. Moreover, they have to survive in Indian spinning conditions, combining own bowling experiments and the elements of risk. So, the SA captain would have to test his fortune at the toss, recalling the last eight bad trials.
Conditions
The pitch has excellent coverage and is one of the flattest in the country, which will be both convenient to rivals. The weather will be quite hot with rain in the evenings. Probably, there is nothing unusual for the Indian climate.
The Third Tests Are on the Way
Following the results of the second Test in Pune, the last match of the series will occur at Ranchi on October 19-23.
The final of the series will be crucial. The previous tour to India in 2015 turned with failure, and now they have already failed to register the single Test win. The situation is even more complicated because they have been defeated five times and drawn three times in their last eight Tests in Asia. The only thing the SA should do is to leave these failures behind and take risks.
This time, South Africa came with a young and perspective squad. It probably will show its best results further.
What are your expectations regarding the following Tests for both teams? Tell us your predictions and commentaries below.
