Virat Kohli has led India in 33 Tests so far. The skipper has never ever played with the same playing XI. As he prepares to take charge in his 34th five-day game, he faces the prospect of making one of the toughest selection choices in his reign as the captain.

India 1-0 down in the three-Test series, head to Centurion after a humbling 72-runs loss in Newlands. Among the many problems that plagued the team during the game, two issues stuck out quite notably:

a) The bowling attack lacked depth.
b) The batsmen failed to apply themselves on the Newlands track that offered pace and bounce.

After letting South Africa get off the hook after reducing them to 12/3 on Day 1, India’s bowlers did well to learn from their mistake to bundle out the opposition for 130 in the second innings in Newlands.

The batsmen, though, are yet to find their feet, with India top-order failing to fire in both innings.

Pace and bounce

As the series moves on to Centurion, more of the same is expected. Reports suggest, the wicket won’t be as green as the one in Cape Town, but is expected to provide the same carry for the bowler as the latter.

The curator has already clarified that the pitch, despite being brown, will not act anything like the sub-continental tracks that the visitors are well-accustomed to.

With warm weather included during the Test, the curator expects the wicket to break by the last two days of the Test. Wicket will have something for the bowlers, but won’t cause much of a hurdle for the batsmen unless they fail to apply themselves.

With just two games left, a positive result in imperative if India hope to create history and win their first Test series in South Africa in 25 years.

BCCI

There were a few below-par performances by certain players during the source of the opening Test, which deserve to be addressed.

India went into the first Test with five bowlers - four pacers, including all-rounder Hardik Pandya, and one spinner R Ashwin.

While the pacers gave a good account of themselves in the second innings of the first Test, Ashwin was left twiddling his thumbs for much of the two innings India spent on the field.

During his short stints, Ashwin managed just two wickets - both of which were of tail-enders. He did chip in with a gritty batting display in the second essay, but by then India’s hopes of realistically chasing South Africa’s target had all but evaporated.

With the track in Centurion expected to play out more or less like the one in Newlands, Kohli might just prefer to include another batsman and choose to send Ashwin onto the bench.

Batsman to replace bowler

Pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya did the bulk of the bowling in the first Test. Ashwin’s presence had little impact on the result of the game.

With India’s batting line-up struggling yet to find their bearing on the tour, might prefer to field more batsmen after their underwhelming performance in the first match.

“If it’s a bowling-friendly track then we might go with four bowlers and if the conditions are perceived to be batting-friendly we might opt for five bowlers,” Assistant coach Sanjay Bangar had said ahead of the match.

Fast and bouncy tracks are likely to be a recurring theme in the remaining two games as well.

A spinner in this scenario is the most expendable resource.

Calls for the return of Ajinkya Rahane had begun no sooner after it became apparent that the vice-captain was dropped in favour of Rohit Sharma, who made the cut on the basis of his terrific form across formats.

Among the current lot, Rahane has been one the most consistent batsman overseas. In his absence, the batting order failed to fire as South Africa’s pacer battery made most of the swinging conditions. India’s batsmen failed to form a single viable partnership, with none of the top-order batsmen coming close to even scoring a half-century.

Rohit, too showed some application in the morning session of Day 2, as he and Pujara blocked out much of the first session on the day to frustrate the South African pacers. A sharp inswinger by Kagiso Rabada, though, had ended the stand just as it appeared that the duo would play out the session without a wicket. While the effort did not alter India’s fortune as such, it did showcase Rohit’s adaptability, if only for a limited time. In the context of the game, it showed promise and should warrant a second chance.

If Ashwin is in fact pushed to the bench, Kohli may look to field Rahane and Rohit at No 5 and No 6 respectively.

Shoring up the opening pair

The stability of the middle order has always been the key for India when it comes to overseas tours. Thanks to the lateral movement prevalent at most venues, India openers, albeit a few exceptions, have hardly ever shown consistency.

Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay are no different and have only recently cemented their spot as the management’s preferred opening pair, with KL Rahul as standby.

Their partnerships during India’s long home season last years, spawned many big totals for India, however in their first Test in foreign locales, the duo hardly looked threatening.

BCCI / Sportzpics

Dhawan’s shot selection in particular drew flak as he struggled to fend off the short deliveries in both innings. Vijay too was guilty of poking outside the off-stump through his short and troubled stint on both occasions.

It is likely that Kohli will look to make changes up front. With Rahul waiting in the wings, India sure to pick him ahead of Dhawan. The latter looked the least adept at tackling the South African conditions in the first Test. While Vijay did not exude much confidence either, his penchant for the defence should make his selection more likely than Dhawan’s.

The extras

Ahead of the trip to Centurion, India had held a small optional practice session. It was attended by Rahane, Rahul, Ishant Sharma and Parthiv Patel.

While the first two are likely to see action the others are still doubtful. Patel is sure to remain on the bench. He was brought in as a back-up wicket-keeper for Wriddhiman Saha. The Bengal player, though, showed immense skill behind the stumps in the first Test, setting a record for most dismissals for a keeper in an innings of a Test. To leave Saha out of the XI would be ill-advised.

This leaves Ishant. The lanky Delhi pacer, along with Umesh Yadav round-off India’s pace battery of six (including all-rounder Pandya), who have made the trip to South Africa. With his height and pace, Ishant was expected to a likely inclusion into the playing XI in the first Test. However, India’s bowling effort in the second innings of the first Test was quite impressive and proved that the pacers had found their groove.

To change things around would mean restarting the process, which might not be wise considering India’s situation in the series.

Change is inevitable. Kohli’s tenure as captain has proven this fact repeatedly over the course of one and a half years. This time around, though, his picks could determine if the team remains in contention to create history or ends up facing another humbling series defeat overseas.

Projected Playing XI

Openers: Murali Vijay, KL Rahul.
No 3 & 4: Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c).
No 5 & 6: Ajinkya Rahane (vc), Rohit Sharma.
All-rounder: Hardik Pandya.
WK: Wriddhiman Saha.
Bowlers: Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.