South Africa vs India

Cape Town rolls out pitch for second Test between India and South Africa

The new year of South Africa and India is set to begin with the second test of the ongoing series. The home team won the first Test at Centurion by an innings and 32 runs and had a lead of 1-0 in the series with a game to go. The Proteas start as the firm favorites even in the second Test where the conditions are set to be similar.

The match is set to take place at Newlands in Cape Town from the 3rd of January to the 7th of January. The wicket is known for its steep bounce and good seam for the pacers. It will again be one of those wickets where the pacers can land the ball on a good length to get the reward. The Pacers need not try anything on their part to be successful.

The wicket at Cape Town is not as green as it was in Centurion. But the teams batting would find it difficult to stay alive in the middle, let alone scoring runs. Batting will be difficult without a doubt. Both the teams have some world-class bowlers and would be all over the batters at the venue come the second Test.

Average scores at the venue

Cape Town has traditionally been a pace-friendly wicket. However, the results of the teams batting first have not been that great. Usually, teams winning the toss would like to bat first in Test cricket. However, Newlands offers seam for the pacers right from the first day. The difficulty level is higher with the progression of the game than at the beginning of the match.

There has been a total of 60 matches at the venue in Tests. While teams batting first have won 23 matches, teams batting second have won 25. The average score in the first innings is 325. In the second inning, it reduces to 292. In the third inning, it further reduces to 234. In the last innings, the average score is just 134. 651 and 35 are the highest and lowest totals registered at the venue in Test cricket.