South Africa vs India 2013: 5 reasons why India would play better in the Test series

2. Cheteshwar Pujara‘s solidity

Cheteshwar Pujara

As Dhoni rightly pointed out at the Toss today, Indian batsmen have been guilty of trying to play an aggressive brand of cricket against the likes of Steyn and Morkel, one, that has backfired in the limited overs series against the Proteas thus far.

Cheteshwar Pujara could be the batsman, who holds the Indian innings together in the Test series. He has all the necessary ingredients to guts it out in the middle, when Steyn and Morkel go for the jugular.

India will be hoping to see off the new ball with minimal damage done to their batting order and Pujara could play a pivotal role in achieving that. With Pujara in the side, likes of Kohli and Rohit Sharma could get that much needed cushion of not having to face up to the new ball, one, which has been their undoing in the ODI series so far.

Pujara is going to be the kind of batsman, India missed during the ODI series, but hopefully, he can play a major role in resurrecting an abysmal looking tour of South Africa.