IND vs SA: Checkout the Guwahati pitch report for the India vs South Africa 2nd Test
The India vs. South Africa second test will be held at Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati. This is the first time that the stadium will host an international test match. Before this, this stadium has hosted 8 ODIs and 7 T20I matches so far, but never got an opportunity to host a test match.
With this match, the Barsapara Stadium will become India’s 30th venue that has hosted a test match. Guwahati is regarded as one of the largest cities and a major commercial centre, which is situated in India’s northeast state, Assam.
This match will be special for some new arrangements and rules. Actually, this match will start at 9:00 AM IST. If the match ends earlier than the usual time, day 2 and other days' games can start at 8:30 AM IST. Generally, a test match on Indian soil starts at 9:30 AM.
This test also witnessed another unusual move that has never been seen in the history of 148 years of test cricket. Normally, during a test match, lunch is served after the first session and tea after the second session, but in this match, tea will be taken before lunch. The first session will end at 11:00 AM, and there will be a 20-minute tea break. After this, the match will resume at 11:20 for the second session and run till 1:20 PM. Following this, lunch will be taken, which will run for 40 minutes. The final session will commence at 2:00 PM. At 4:00 PM, stumps will be taken. A thirty-minute extension would be included if needed.
This unusual change in order is caused by Guwahati's early sunrise and sunset times, which occur in the northeastern Indian state of Assam. These changes were made because northeastern India frequently experiences earlier sunrises and sunsets than other regions of the nation. It would not be surprising if poor light results in fewer overs being played or early stumps being taken during this match.
The Indian Test side has already lost the first match of the Test series against the Proteas by 30 runs at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Indian batters totally failed to read spin and didn’t chase the 124-run target in the fourth innings. South Africa’s Simon Harmer took 8 wickets in the match. Against South Africa’s spinners Simon Harmer, Keshav Maharaj, and seamer Marco Jansen, no Indian batter touched the 40-run mark.
After the defeat, the Indian team & coaching staff faced a lot of criticism from critics. According to some reports, the Indian team management had requested a turner-friendly pitch before the Kolkata Test, but the Indian batsmen flopped badly on this pitch. The Indian batting line-up surrendered miserably to the South African spin bowling in both innings, failing to even chase the target of 124 runs. It will be interesting to see what kind of wicket the Guwahati wicket will be like. Will it be a rank turner like the last match, or will the Indian team management demand a batting-friendly surface this time around?
India will have to win this upcoming cricket match at any cost to avoid another home test series defeat. Before this, India was whitewashed by New Zealand in the 3-match test series. At the moment, the Indian team can’t afford another home test series defeat.
