South Africa's last round of win in India has probably ended with the T20Is giving way for Test matches at three venues, where Test cricket has been played just once each before. If 2015 was an aberration to South Africa's more than impressive record in this country, they are faced with the daunting task of securing a win in the country where the hosts have lost just four Tests in the last decade.
Proteas will be smiling, though, with news coming in that Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the entire series. The last thing they would have wanted on this tour was to lose early wickets to Bumrah when all of those 20 wickets are reserved in advance for Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. A lucky week for them already.
WATCH OUT FOR: Virat Kohli
He turned up in the T20Is but after an average World Cup, Kohli will return to hope in anticipation of finding form like the one he rushed through in the 2016 season. More double hundreds in the offing? Perhaps. But then he has a hissing Kagiso Rabada to wade past. The battle will be enticing but Kohli averages 80-plus in India since 2016. Looking for more numbers? Let's rest the case with this bit of stat - South Africa's highest wicket-taker in India from the current crop of players on this tour is Dean Elgar with five wickets. Good luck dismissing Virat Kohli!
Pakistan's first home match in a while...yes, again
We spoke about Pakistan waiting to play their first home game in a while last week. Well, we are still speaking about it with the first ODI entirely washed out and the second moved to a later date following incessant rains. We could well end up with a washed out series if the rains continue to pour down in this fashion. The drainage system at Karachi isn't the best either much to the frustration of Pakistani fans who have been waiting to watch their team perform at home.
WATCH OUT FOR: M̶o̶r̶e̶ ̶r̶a̶i̶n̶ Mohammad Amir
He might have retired from red ball cricket but give Mohammad Amir some rain and a damp wicket and he might even get a mango to swing back into the right handers. With all the rain that's been going around in the country, should a game be feasible, Amir would become a very difficult proposition for a young, inexperienced Sri Lankan line-up.
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Featured image courtesy: AFP / Sajjad Hussain
