The makeup of the Proteas team for the Test series decider against India at Newlands is likely to dominate debate well after the toss on Tuesday.
Though they come off a superb win in the second Test, it will by no means guarantee a start for those who participated in the victory in Johannesburg.
SA will arrive at Newlands buoyed by their seven-wicket victory at the Wanderers. It wasn’t just the victory, but the emphatic manner in which it was achieved that would have been the wind beneath their wings en route to Cape Town.
Sure, India were without their talismanic captain Virat Kohli, while the injury seamer Mohammed Siraj picked up during the match would have hamstrung the visiting attack, but SA will draw many feelgood factors from the game.
The win against the top-ranked Test team would have been gold dust for a Proteas team in transition. That victory will rank among great SA wins and the players who stand to benefit most from the win are the greenhorns Keegan Petersen, Kyle Verreynne and Marco Jansen. If it did not imbue them with a sense that they belong at the highest level, nothing will.
SA will arrive at Newlands buoyed by their seven-wicket victory at the Wanderers
Inevitably though, with success comes the question of whether the hosts dare change a winning line-up. Some will argue they achieved their success on the highveld a batter light.
Marco Jansen, despite his prowess with the bat at age group level, is yet to convince he is an all-rounder that can hold down the No 7 spot. Both his former and current coaches at provincial level prefer to bat him a peg lower in the order.
Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj, who has been used sparingly in the series, will now likely emerge from the shadows. In fact, he will be central to the Proteas’ attack at Newlands, perhaps the most attritional ground for bowlers in this series.
After their win coach Mark Boucher remarked it was by no means a perfect performance. Indeed, there were again batting deficiencies, mostly however, in the first innings. The opening partnership, particularly the form of Aiden Markram, remains a talking point.
The knock on effect of their early setbacks has directly affected the manner in which Petersen has had to negotiate his first steps at the highest level.
Despite the less than solid foundation on which he’s had to bat, he has grown in stature. He looks more assured every time he comes to the crease and perhaps the pressure under which he’s had to operate will mould him into a Test batter of substance.
The ever durable Elgar is the glue at the top of the order but it wasn’t just his batting that helped SA get over the line at the Wanderers.
His captaincy too contributed richly to the win. Captains have to have tricks to get the chins around him up and the manner in which he sparked Kagiso Rabada to his fiery best proved decisive in the second Test.
Rabada’s burst when he took three wickets helped alter the course of events.
Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara and Rishabh Pant’s dismissals served as a reminder of Rabada’s enduring quality but there will be a need for the pace ace to operate at that elevated frequency more often at Newlands.
“It was a tough love conversation between KG and I,” said Elgar.
The ever durable Elgar is the glue at the top of the order
As for India, they should have Kohli available for selection after he missed the Wanderers Test with back spasms.
“From all accounts, he should be fine,” said India coach Rahul Dravid. “He's had the opportunity to run around a little bit, he’s had the opportunity to test it a little bit, I’ll be down only now at the moment in the nets with a few throwdowns and stuff, so hopefully with a few net sessions in Cape Town, he should be good to go.”
Hanuma Vihari, despite impressing in Johannesburg, is the one likely to make way for the captain.
Dravid will be mightily relieved that veterans Pujara and Rahane, whose names were both linked with the exit before the Wanderers Test, found much needed second-innings form.
India, who won the first Test in Centurion, will be acutely aware they’ve relinquished momentum to the hosts. They will also need no reminding that they are yet to win a Test at Newlands.
England however, in the last Test played at Newlands in 2020, proved SA, who had lost just once in the preceding 18 Tests there, were not invincible in Cape Town.
England won by a whopping 189 runs to help set up a series win and Kohli and Co are desperate to join that elite club.
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