Aiming to avoid a humiliating whitewash, the Indian team will take on South Africa in the third and final Test at Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Wednesday. The hosts blanked the visitors completely in the first two Tests beating them in all the departments of the game. In both the matches, Virat Kohli and Co. failed to chase the given targets, they fell short in Cape Town by 72 runs and were comprehensively defeated in Centurion by a 135-run margin.
Proteas have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the 3-match series and the pitch at Wanderers is likely to add more worries to the visiting camp. If the reports are to be believed the strip in Johannesburg could easily live upto it's its reputation as a haven for fast bowlers. Earlier, South African captain Faf du Plessis expressed his disappointment with the slowness of the Centurion pitch where they clinched the series last week.
Speaking on the show 'Cricket Ki Baat' on India TV, former India opener Virender Sehwag said: "It will not be easy for Virat Kohli's team to register a victory in the third and final Test in Johannesburg."
He feels it's due to the lack of application the Indian batters have so far struggled in the ongoing series. However, Sehwag didn't shy to hail the performance of Indian bowlers who picked up 40 South African wickets in two matches.
"Bowlers did extremely well in South Africa, it was batsmen who let India down in those conditions", said India TV's cricket expert.
Praising skipper Virat Kohli for his splendid show in the Centurion Test, Sehwag said: "The captain has performed his duty for the team and led from the front but he needs support from the other end to make it count."
"Except for Kohli's 153 (Centurion), Pandya's 93 (Cape Town), there's wasn't any substantial knock from any of the other batsmen. In fact, we didn't see strong partnerships building in either of the Test matches."
This was the first overseas Test series loss for India under Virat Kohli (discounting the 2014 loss in Australia as MS Dhoni was full-time captain back then). The tour has also ended India's streak of nine consecutive series' wins since 2015. However, despite the result, Team India will not lose its no.1 Test ranking even if the rubber ends 0-3 in favour of South Africa.
Speaking about India's chances in the third and final Test, the 39-year old made a blatant statement that India cannot win the Test if they bat first in Johannesburg. However, he added that India have 80 percent chances of winning the match if they bowl first at Wanderers.
