Aakash Chopra thinks South Africa’s batting is not strong. He believes if India can get Dean Elgar out early, they can benefit.
Elgar scored 185 runs, helping South Africa defeat the guests with an over lead of 32 runs in the first Test in Centurion. Rohit Sharma’s team is hoping for a stronger performance in the second final Test on Wednesday, January 3, in Cape Town.
Chopra mentioned in a YouTube video that India could tap into South Africa’s ‘weak’ batting by removing Dean Elgar early. He explained further:
“South Africa’s news is that Temba Bavuma is not there. This is Dean Elgar’s last Test match and he is going to play as a captain, which is poetic justice. He also said that forget about the runs, his eyes are on the trophy. So he will be absolutely pumped up.”
Aakash Chopra
The former India opener added:
“I still feel the South African batting is weak. If you remove Dean Elgar, it seems like the batting is extremely ordinary, but removing Dean Elgar is extremely difficult. He doesn’t get removed that easily.”
Aakash Chopra
Chopra notes that Lungi Ngidi hasn’t participated in a first-class match in over a year and is unsure if he would replace the injured Gerald Coetzee in South Africa’s starting XI. If Ngidi is out, he anticipates Keshav Maharaj to be in the starting lineup.
“They will have to play 5 sessions” – Aakash Chopra says India need to bat well
Aakash Chopra believes India’s batting performance will be the deciding factor in their second Test victory. His statement:
“I still feel if India have to do well, they need to bat well. They will have to play five sessions. The truth is that South Africa batted slightly more in one inning than India batted totally in two innings.”
Aakash Chopra
The reputable analyst said that India’s batting failed in both innings, even if he acknowledged that the bowling was also lacking in the first game of the series. He said:
“There were two reasons for that. Firstly, India didn’t bowl that well. Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur were expensive and (Mohammed) Siraj also found his rhythm only in parts, but they didn’t bat well. That’s why you were dismissed quickly in both innings.”
Aakash Chopra
In conclusion, Chopra stated that the onus should fall on India’s batting. He went on to say that the bowling will be OK if the hitters are doing well.
