India A vs South Africa A
Bengaluru, Nov 5: India A skipper Rishabh Pant will look to build on the gains from the first match, while the likes of Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav will aim for crucial red-ball game time in the second four-day match against a Temba Bavuma-led South Africa A here from Thursday.
Pant managed to log trouble-free 139.3 overs as wicketkeeper besides playing 133 balls as a batter, which included a typically colourful 90 in last week’s first four-day game at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (COE) grounds.
With the fitness worries firmly behind him, the left-hander will now be eager to put himself through the rigours once more before the two-match Test series against South Africa, beginning from November 14.
Siraj, KL Rahul and Kuldeep were a part of India’s ongoing white-ball tour to Australia before returning home, and they can now polish their red-ball skills against a competitive opposition in South Africa A.
The visitors will be eager to level the series after the hosts recorded a three-wicket win in the first match.
From a batters’ perspective, the South Africa A pacers employed the short-pitched ball strategy to good effect on the final day of the first match to rattle the Indians, including Pant himself.
Whether the senior South African side follows a similar path is a matter of debate, but it certainly might have got the feedback on how some of the highborn Indian batters looked distinctly uncomfortable against the lifters.
With the COE pitch offering a fair bit of assistance for pacers in the form of consistent bounce, the South African ‘A’ bowlers might be tempted to press those snorters into service once again.
If so, the India batters playing here will get some good workout ahead of the showdown against the likes of Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen barely two weeks later.
Meanwhile, Bavuma, who missed the recent tour to Pakistan with a calf strain, will be desperate to regain the rhythm of the red-ball game here while spending quality time in the middle. (PTI).
Match starts at 9.30 am.
