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South Africa have found themselves in a relatively comfortable position in the ongoing Boxing Day Test against India at the Super Sport Park in Centurion. At Stumps on Day 2, the Proteas have mustered an 11-run lead with five wickets in hand.
The hosts have hardly put a foot wrong after winning the toss and opting to bowl first, trusting the overcast conditions and the moisture on the pitch to do its work. The ploy paid off as the new-ball bowlers ran through the Indian top order to leave them tottering at 24-3 at one stage.
They were pegged back by a partnership between Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer, and by KL Rahul as well in the second half of the innings, but managed to dismiss the visitors under 250. Furthermore, they were helped by a change in conditions, which they capitalized on to gain an advantage in the proceedings.
Dean Elgar began his farewell series with a memorable ton and was well assisted by debutant David Bedingham as well. The Indians, on the other hand, have sorely missed Mohammed Shami so far, and have only been potent in patches.
South Africa currently have the key and if they can seize the moving day of the Test as well, then the Men in Blue will be under some serious pressure.
On that note, let us take a look at three things South Africa needs to do right to dominate Day 3 of the first SA vs IND 2023 Test.
#1 Dean Elgar must carry on with the same approach
Dean Elgar was at his prolific best on Day 2 of the Test and looked as solid as ever to score yet another hundred against India. The gritty left-handed batter held the innings together and has scored more than half of the team's total single-handedly.
His unbeaten 140-run knock off 211 deliveries was quite brisk by Elgar's standards. With the difficult stage now over, there is no potential reason for Elgar to change his free-flowing approach. He has already hit 23 fours in his knock so far, and keeping the boundaries flowing will be the key for the Proteas.
Now that he has run out of certified batters and with only the tail order to keep him company, he can potentially take a leaf out of KL Rahul's book. The Indian wicketkeeper stuck around with the tail to stretch his team's total to 245 in the first innings.
Elgar has to do the same to stretch the side's lead as much as possible, and South Africa's tail being much stronger coupled with India's inability to bowl out the lower order, comes across as a huge advantage.
#2 Aim for a lead around the 100-run mark
South Africa can realistically aim for a significant lead considering the position that they are currently in. With Elgar looking near-invincible and a solid string of lower-order batters like Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, and Kagiso Rabada, the Proteas will be looking for a match-winning lead.
As mentioned before, their current advantage lies at 11 runs, and something close to 100 runs will be a huge mountain for India to overcome. The average third-innings total at the venue is just 230 runs, which plays right into South Africa's hands.
The pitch is also expected to quicken up, meaning that South Africa have possibly batted when it was playing at its best, and a hard time awaits India despite a potential light relaxation in terms of the overcast conditions.
#3 Give Nandre Burger the new ball along with Kagiso Rabada
A rather left-field choice, but the Proteas can consider partnering Nandre Burger with Kagiso Rabada in the second innings instead of Marco Jansen. The debutant was a bit erratic but managed to yield results, with crucial top-order wickets of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill.
Additionally, Jansen was far from his best in the first innings, with only KL Rahul's wicket at the end to show for his efforts.
Both Burger and Jansen, being left-arm seamers, rely on swing to trouble the right-handed heavy Indian batting unit. The former was able to get the ball to move but was struggling to control it and ended up bowling to the pads more often. Having a bit of extra pace over Jansen, he will be a bigger threat if he makes that particular correction in line.
With even the old Kookaburra ball swinging in these conditions, the Proteas can afford to introduce Jansen a bit later into the attack as well.
Will South Africa ward India off the game with a dominant outing on Day 3 of the first Test? Let us know what you think.
