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South Africa vs India Second Test Tips - Elgar's retirement bash to spur the hosts

By Siddhu Bharadwaj

02 Jan 2024

Siddhu Bharadwaj 02 Jan 2024

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South Africa vs India Second Test predictions to be played at the Newlands in Cape Town starting from Wednesday, January 3
South Africa have won 9 of their last 10 home Tests
India have lost 4 of their last 5 Tests against South Africa played at this venue

Can South Africa give a farewell win to Dean Elgar? (Getty Images)

South Africa vs India Second Test

Hopes of winning their first-ever series in the Rainbow nation are gone for India after a humiliating defeat by an innings in the first Test. They now have to play for pride and make sure the series isn’t lost. For that, they will have to win the second Test starting from Wednesday at the Newlands stadium in Cape Town.

South Africa vs India Second Test
Head to Head
South Africa Form
South Africa Team News
India Form
India Team News

India struggled to adapt in the first match while South Africa enjoyed the best of the conditions to post a comfortable win. With Dean Elgar set to retire after this match, the home side is more likely to put their best foot forward and win the series outright. I am backing the Proteas to win again.

South Africa have won 9 of their last 10 home matches (Tests)
South Africa have won 5 of their last 6 matches at this venue (Tests)
India have lost 6 of their last 8 away matches against South Africa (Tests)
India have also lost 4 of their last 5 matches played at this venue (Tests)

Head to Head

There have been 43 Tests in total between South Africa and India so far. Of these, there were 15 wins for India and 18 wins for South Africa with the remaining 10 ending in a draw.

In the first Test, South Africa won by an innings and 32 runs with their first innings score of 408 proving more than adequate as India could only post 245 and 131.

South Africa Form

South Africa made light of the absence of their captain Temba Bavuma to win the first Test quite easily. It was largely based on their bowling performance that limited India to 245 in the first innings.

Dean Elgar (185) then put up a great score with the bat with support from Marco Jansen (84*) and debutant David Bedingham (56). Interestingly, all the other batters struggled.

The Proteas also had another debutant Nandre Burger excelling, with seven wickets to his name. Kagiso Rabada also had seven and the hosts never felt the absence of a spinner.

South Africa Team News

Temba Bavuma is ruled out, so it would be interesting to see if the Proteas bring in Wiaan Mulder or Tristan Stubbs. In case of the former, they may go for Keshav Maharaj too, in place of Gerald Coetzee.

India Form

India failed to make it count with the bat as scores of 245 and 131 brought back memories of the early 1990s when they struggled to adapt to the conditions.

The visitors had only KL Rahul (101) and Virat Kohli (76) contributing in the two innings with every other batter feeling the heat. The swinging ball and the bouncy conditions played against them, but there’s no excuse for their poor returns.

With the ball, it was just Jasprit Bumrah (four) and Mohammed Siraj (two) showing their might while everyone else failed to turn up.

India Team News

Prasidh Krishna could be benched in favour of Mukesh Kumar while Ravindra Jadeja should return in place of Ravichandran Ashwin. Shardul Thakur is also under pressure for his place, while Yashasvi Jaiswal may not yet make way for Abhimanyu Easwaran although don’t rule it out.

South Africa vs India Second Test FAQs

Where can I watch the South Africa vs India Second Test live stream?

Our live streaming calendar shows you where to watch the South Africa vs India Second Test live stream.

What time does South Africa vs India Second Test start?

This South Africa vs India Second Test will be played at the Newlands in Cape Town from January 3, Wednesday starting at 1:30pm IST.

Verdict

I am once again putting my money on South Africa to win, as they look more settled and in peace with the conditions. Dean Elgar would love to bow out on a high and a good score for the stand-in captain can’t be ruled out.