Fab Three faces fresh test vs Proteas
THE CORE India’s new batting leaders, with Virat Kohli in the front, will have to deliver on South Africa’s pacy wickets
home. He may average just 33 plus at home but since that goes up to 53 away, India know they have a go-to man playing abroad.
Kohli, of course, is on the fast lane towards eclipsing all records, scoring 10 hundreds each home and away. He seems to have overcome a tendency to play away from the body – a weakness England bowlers exploited on the 2014 tour.
But Pujara, despite his enormous patience and ability to grind out the opposition once on top, doesn’t have the conversion going in his favour. One century outside the subcontinent -- in South Africa in 2013 -- in a sevenyear career (17 Tests away from the sub-continent) doesn’t do justice to his capability.
Debu Mitra, Pujara’s erstwhile coach at Saurashtra, however feels it will change soon. “He knows he is going to the country where he had scored that century. It always helps mentally. Pujara is a much more evolved batsman and he should get runs in South Africa,” he told Hindustan Times over phone.
Pujara was bogged down by questions over his strike rate in 2016, with Kohli speaking to the batsman on the need to speed up. Mitra said Pujara has emerged a better batsman due to a few changes. “His strike rate has improved. The biggest change in him though is that he is sweeping now. He never used to play that shot.”
South African pitches this time of the year tend to be fast. But all three are seasoned and have good averages -- 68 (Kohli), 69 (Rahane) and 44 (Pujara) -- that almost won them a Test the last time. With most boxes ticked, India should be assured of a fighting chance to draw the series, if not win.