IND v SA | Balance between attack and defense is key when playing in subcontinent, says Faf du Plessis
Ahead of the second Test in Pune, Faf du Plessis has stated that the balance between attack and defence is the key when playing in subcontinent conditions. The Proteas skipper regretted the fact that his bowling attack could not pick up 20 Indian wickets in Vizag and may look to shuffle his pack.
South Africa landed in Vizag with a clear intent of thwarting India’s reign at the top of the ICC Test Championship, and throughout the five days, they put up an impressive fight. Apart from the first session on day five, the visiting batsmen played the spinners with a relative amount of ease, especially in comparison to how they fared the last time they toured India in 2015.
"The difference with us from 2015, where you try and survive in Indian spinning conditions and with that sometimes you can become too defensive and you allow the opposition to be on top of you the whole time, now it needs to be a good combination of positive play, an element of taking risks at some stages of the game to try and counter that pressure from the bowling. The balance between attack and defense is key when you are playing in the subcontinent," du Plessis said pre-match, reported ESPNCricinfo.
As they eventually succumbed to the might of the No.1 Test side, their skipper rued the fact that his bowlers could not knock over the Indians in either innings — picking up only 11 wickets out of a possible 20. Du Plessis confirmed that the team are pondering over making some changes to their bowling unit in order to add potency. At Vizag, they’d played three spinners — Keshav Maharaj, Dane Piedt, and Senuran Muthusamy — besides their two frontline pacers Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada.
"We are thinking about what's going to be our most aggressive options to get 20 wickets. We didn't get 20 wickets in the first Test and that's something I don't want to do again. We are planning for a pitch that will be a bit drier and that will spin," du Plessis said.
Regarding the pitch, the visiting captain is satisfied that the current setup of the ICC Test Championship does not allow the conditions to be skewed too far in favour of the hosts.
"That's the big thing the Test championship has changed. In the past, if you had a below-average pitch, you got a warning, whereas now you get deducted points," du Plessis said.
"The turf (in Pune) is a little bit more red, more spinning conditions, so expecting the ball to spin a little bit more from the straight. I am not a pitch expert but I think it will take a bit more turn than the first Test," du Plessis added.
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