South Africa vs India 2018: Ideal playing XI for the third Test
The hype has ended, and all Indian hopes of conquering the Rainbow Nation have been put off until the next tour. A visibly distraught captain Kohli has been handed his first series defeat and will be keen to avoid a whitewash.
Though the third Test is a dead rubber, India will aim to pull one back so that they can start the ODI series on a positive note.
Openers:
The biggest problem Indian batting has faced in this tour is the absence of long partnerships- both in terms of runs scored and time negotiated. South Africa's bowlers ensured the team never felt they were out of the contest, even though the batsmen continued gifting their wickets away at regular intervals. The openers were unable to curb their natural instincts and went for attacking shots off innocuous balls to gift their wickets away.
The best choice in such a case would be to choose two players whose natural inclination is to play the defensive game.
Murali Vijay:
"The Monk" has had an ordinary series so far, but his defensive technique is still to be questioned. His 46 in the second Test was reassuring, but not quite enough. Analyzing his technique, he is perfect to see off the new-ball threat so that the middle order can cash-in on the opportunity.
On several occasions, the dismissal of one opener perturbs the other, leaving him vulnerable to attacking deliveries from the opposition. This has been the case for India, as three out of four occasions the second opener was dismissed within 5 runs of the fall of the first wicket. To prevent that, the second opener should also be someone with a comparable defensive skill set.
Cheteshwar Pujara:
Cheteshwar Pujara has been the quintessential accumulator for India in the home season, as he scored a lot of runs at a decent pace. His characteristic grit and patience make him perfect for the longer format.
In all innings so far, Pujara was required to step into action early as the first couple of wickets did not fetch even a minimal amount of runs. He may have uncharacteristically wilted under pressure - perhaps the run-outs were results of this, but a couple of failures don't change him from what he is- a marathon player with an almost-perfect defensive approach. He can be the axis around which the rest of the Indian line-up can build a total.