IND vs SA: Will it be Rohit Sharma or Hardik Pandya for India at Cape Town?

A groundsman cleans the casing of the 2018 Freedom Series trophy for which SA and India will play three Tests, beginning today in Cape Town. pic/AFP

Will he or won't he?

India will wait until match morning to take a call on whether Rohit Sharma will make the playing XI in the first Test against South Africa at Newlands. Coming into the series on the back of a hot run in limited-overs cricket, Rohit is an odds on favourite to pip Hardik Pandya for a spot on a pitch that is hard and green and promises seam movement.

Rohit Sharma

Sanjay Bangar, India's assistant coach and batting specialist, kept his cards close to his chest, but explained the process that would decide India's combination. "If it's a bowling-friendly track then obviously we might go with four bowlers and if the conditions are perceived to be batting-friendly, we might opt for five bowlers. That's been case through the last 24 months, I don't think it will be any different here," said Bangar.

Hardik Pandya

When asked point blank whether he thought the conditions in Cape Town were batting or bowling friendly, Bangar lived up to his Buddha nickname with a stoic answer. "As of now, the conditions we found, we expect the ball to seam around a bit on Day One. On Day Two and Day Three, they are going to be very good batting conditions. We'll look at the extent of moisture tomorrow on the surface and will take it from there."

Interpret that as you will, but there was no doubt that this Indian team is confident of themselves to forego a net session on the eve of a match, and are far from being intimidated by the conditions. "It's a Test match and it"s no different from any other Test that we play where the opposition skill set is taken into account. What we really focus on is our own inward processes, our mental approach, how our mindset is in terms of batting rhythm. So the opposition doesn't matter nor do the conditions. What we are feeling as a batting group is what matters and we work towards achieving that sort of level we desire to." If the conditions and the opposition don't matter, India should be well on top when the time comes.

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