PRETORIA: India need to win the second Test against South Africa to avoid another chastening loss outside the subcontinent. Ahead of the Centurion game, which starts on Saturday, here are five things to watch for.
REMEMBER THE TITANS
Time was when the cynics joked that you got the Australian baggy green cap along with your New South Wales one. Similar things were said of Mumbai in India, and Barbados in the Caribbean, teams with a long and proud tradition of providing the spine of the national side. But the Centurion-based Titans are taking it to another level. Regardless of whether Chris Morris, who first played for Gauteng, or Lungi Ngidi, whose roots are in Natal, gets to play, the franchise will have seven players in the starting XI. Dean Elgar and Aiden Markram at the top, AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis and Quinton de Kock in the middle order, and Morne Morkel as the most experienced bowler. Impressive.
SAHA FOR THE DROP?
Since MS Dhoni played the last of his 90 Tests at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in December 2014, Wriddhiman Saha has kept wicket in 29 of the 33 Tests India have played, with hamstring injuries ruling him out of the other four. He took five catches in both innings at Newlands, but looked lost with bat in hand. In eight innings in South Africa and Australia, Saha has made just 119 runs. Could India be about to drop their best keeper?
LEFT IS RIGHT?
To what lengths will Virat Kohli and the team management go to open with a left-right combination? If Shikhar Dhawan is not the answer, and the net sessions suggested that was the case, then that would mean a complete rejig in order to accommodate Parthiv Patel at the top. In the last of his many comebacks, Patel scored 42, 67 not out and 71 while opening the batting against England. But that was on home turf. The last time he played in a Southern Hemisphere Test was January 2004, Steve Waugh’s farewell in Sydney. He was not even 19.
RAHANE REDUX
“Before the first Test, no one thought that he should be in the eleven and now suddenly people are looking at the other option. For us as a team it’s all about finding the right balance. We certainly don’t go on opinions that are created outside, the talk of the town and all those sorts of things.” That was Kohli’s rather terse response to a question about Ajinkya Rahane, his deputy. But a lengthy net session and slip-catching practice suggested that Rahane, who scored 96 in Durban on India’s last tour, would indeed come into the equation at Centurion. Just do not expect the think tank to admit that they blundered by leaving him out.
ALL-PACE GAMBIT?
Even on the verdant green pitches that greeted them in New Zealand in 2002 — the highest total on either side in the two Tests was 247 — India never forgot their spin-bowling tradition. The idea of an Indian XI without a spinner is akin to contemplating scones without clotted cream. Kohli was non-committal when asked about an all-pace attack, but surely that would be a change too far. If Umesh Yadav or Ishant Sharma did come in, that would mean an even more tardy over-rate and a potential ban for the captain. Besides, pace and bounce should also mean some joy for Ashwin. After all, the king of off-spinners, Muttiah Muralitharan, took 12 in two Tests here.
Centurion Test preview: 5 things we can expect from India, South Africa
Centurion Test preview: 5 things we can expect from India, South Africa
Big names eliminated as seeds advance at Dubai Tennis Championships
- Amanda Anisimova (2), Belinda Bencic (9), Clara Tauson (12), Emma Navarro (14) and Iva Jovic (16) all progress to round of 32
- Katerina Siniakova falls in straight sets to Spain’s Paula Badosa, who sets up clash with 2-time Dubai winner and seventh seed Elina Svitolina
DUBAI: Two former finalists and several seeded contenders advanced into the round of 32 at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, but a number of Grand Slam winners and big-name favorites were sent packing by some of the WTA’s rising young stars on Monday.
Amanda Anisimova, the world No. 6 and this week’s second seed was handed a late bye after the Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejcikova withdrew injured.
The penultimate center court match proved the last as Spain’s Paula Badosa, a Dubai resident, dismantled Katerina Siniakova 6-3, 7-5 to set up a round two clash against the tournament’s 2017 and 2018 champion, seventh seed Elina Svitolina.
“Katerina’s a very tricky opponent, she’s won a lot of matches and I was expecting a tough battle,” said Badosa.
“I’m really pleased with my performance today. I tried to stay in there as she increased her level, it was very intense.
“I was trying to go for my shots, be aggressive, just trying to stay in the points as long as possible and wait for opportunities. I really look forward to playing here, I’m like a local now.”
Earlier on center court, last year’s defeated finalist, Clara Tauson, the 12th seed, got her new campaign off to a positive start, beating 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in straight sets.
The two exchanged powerful groundstrokes and intelligent net play in the first set, but it was Denmark’s Tauson who claimed the tiebreaker. With American Kenin seeming to tire, world No. 15 Tauson won 7-6 (4), 6-2.
Another defeated Dubai finalist, Anna Kalinskaya, beat 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko to progress. Kalinskaya, who reached the final in 2024, lost the opening set 2-6, but won the next two sets 6-1, 6-4.
World No. 13 and ninth seed Belinda Bencic conquered Spanish debutant Jessica Bouzas Maneiro on center court. After losing the first set 2-6, Bencic, who won the title here in 2019, won the next two sets 6-1, 6-2.
Bencic said: “I am just glad I was able to calm my head down a little bit and try and play a very simple game to improve throughout the match. I think I just settled into the match.”
Bencic, 28, who will face Sara Bejlek, 20, for the first time in the next round, added: “I will try to figure out all of the information I have, but during the match I’ll just have to adjust and figure it out as we go.”
Earlier, world No. 20 and 16th seed Iva Jovic beat Uzbekistan’s Kamilla Rakhimova 6-1, 1-6, 6-1. The American, 18, is a rising star, and will now face world No. 21 Diana Shnaider who overcame Australia’s Maya Joint.
Meanwhile, crowd favorite Leylah Fernandez, a Canadian with Filipino ancestry, lost in straight sets to Indonesian wildcard Janice Tjen 7-6 (5), 6-4.
“It was a great battle out there,” said Tjen, 23, who also beat Fernandez in straight sets at the Australian Open. “I think the first set could have gone the other way, it was just a matter of my execution in the big moments.
“We know each other pretty well at this point, we’ve had a couple of practices together as well, but thanks to my coach I managed to prepare a little better.
“I’m pretty aggressive and always trying to control the point, that sometimes doesn’t work as well as I want it to, but today I was able to do that, stay aggressive, and I’m happy.”
On court two, British star Emma Raducanu’s much-anticipated return to Dubai stadium ended in defeat to Antonia Ruzic, 1-6, 7-5, 2-6. The Croatian had replaced Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the morning after the Italian withdrew due to a right thigh injury.
On Tuesday, Australian Open champion and No. 1 seed Elena Rybakina faces Australian qualifier Kimberly Birrell on center court. The match comes after world No. 4 and third seed Coco Gauff playing Kalinskaya.
Filipino star Alexandra Eala completes day three’s center court bill. The world No. 40 plays sixth seed Jasmine Paolini in the evening’s final match.
