India will welcome back paceman Zaheer Khan from injury to bolster an attack that was pulverised by South Africa in a one-sided first test when the second test starts in Durban on Sunday. The number-one ranked test team were crushed by an innings and 25 runs at Centurion in the first of the three-match series. The game was put beyond India in the first two days when they were skittled for 136 before the hosts piled up 620 for four declared.
Conditions are expected to be similar in Durban, where a humid atmosphere and the usual overcast conditions ensure plenty of assistance for bowlers. Zaheer is set to replace Jaidev Unadkat. "We need 20 test wickets and we've shown in the last three years that we have the ability to do that on any surface," India coach Gary Kirsten said. The ailing Indian batting line-up could well be beefed up with Cheteshwar Pujara earning his second call-up in place of Suresh Raina, who scored just one and five at Centurion and was caught in the slips in both innings.
Probable teams: South Africa - Graeme Smith, Alviro Petersen, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Ashwell Prince, Mark Boucher, Wayne Parnell, Dale Steyn, Paul Harris, Morne Morkel. India - Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Vangipurappu Laxman, Cheteshwar Pujara, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.