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Pitch report, weather in Johannesburg, head to head — all you need to know ahead of 2nd IND vs SA Test

India will look to stamp authority when they meet the Proteas in the second Test from Monday as the visitors eye a chance to seal their first-ever Test series win in South Africa.

Pitch report, weather in Johannesburg, head to head — all you need to know ahead of 2nd IND vs SA Test (Source: Twitter)

India will look to stamp authority when they meet the Proteas in the second Test from Monday as the visitors eye a chance to seal their first-ever Test series win in South Africa.

India have never lost a match in the longest format of the game at the Wanderers and the visitors will try to maintain the streak this week.

India`s middle-order has still not fired in the series but head coach Rahul Dravid feels some big scores will be there in the upcoming games from the visiting batters.

"I couldn`t speak highly of him (Kohli) the way he is committed to his own preparation. And also with the way he has connected himself with the group on and off the field," said Dravid in the pre-match press conference.

On the other hand, South Africa will look to bank upon the conditions in their favour to win the second Test.

South Africa wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock on Thursday announced his retirement from Test cricket hours after the conclusion of the first Test.

The Proteas will have a lot to ponder upon in selecting the playing XI for the second Test in order to make full use of the conditions here.

"Our batters let us down. I`d say the batting was the difference between the two sides. We`ll have a little sit-down with myself and the management to strategise. Didn`t do a lot of wrong things. Not all doom and gloom for us. We thrive under pressure which is a positive for us," said South Africa skipper Dean Elgar as per ICC.

Squads

South Africa: Dean Elgar (c), Temba Bavuma, Sarel Erwee, Keegan Petersen, Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, George Linde, Marco Jansen, Wiaan Mulder, Prenelan Subrayen, Kyle Verreynne, Ryan Rickelton, Kagiso Rabada, Beuran Hendricks, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Glenton Stuurman, Sisanda Magala, Duanne Olivier.

India: Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shreyas Iyer, Priyank Panchal, Hanuma Vihari, Ravichandran Ashwin, Rishabh Pant, Wriddhiman Saha, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur. 

The Wanderers Pitch report:

Bowlers will have an upperhand at The Wanderers. The new ball will swing so expect the team winning the toss to avoid batting first. However if a team is brave and opts to bat, plays out the first session without losing many wickets, it can get the upperhand. Spin can be offered by The Wanderes pitch as the game progresses but largely it will be a paradise for pacers. 

Weather in Johannesburg:

Day 1 is going to have a good weather for a cricket match. It will be bright and sunny mostly. Day 2 will some cloud cover with chances of rain as well and on Day 3 sun will be out again. On Day 4 and 5, rain forecast is there, as per Accuweather app.  

Test record at the Wanderers Stadium

Total games played: 37

Games won by the team batting first: 17

Games won by team fielding first: 10

Average 1st Innings scores: 313

Average 2nd Innings scores: 280

Average 3rd Innings scores: 252

India and South Africa have met 5 times at this ground, India winning twice while other three games ended in a draw.

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With inputs from ANI