South Africa Looking For A Whitewash: Kagiso Rabada

Young pacer, Kagiso Rabada, has given a big statement before going into the third Test as the pacer has said that the South African team will be looking to win the third Test and whitewash the Indian team,

“Obviously we know how to play fast bowling and we’ve got respect for their attack. Every game you go into, you want to win. So obviously we want to get a whitewash against India,” he said.

South Africa have already won the series by a margin of 2-0, and there might be no surprise if South Africa do whitewash the visitors, but this comment from Rabada will surely charge up the Indian players as well, who were confident of retaining the Freedom series Trophy.

Poor performances and few surprising decisions have contributed to team India’s defeat. Starting from the opening pair, replacing Shikhar Dhawan with KL Rahul only after one failure was surprising, a fact which has been highlighted by many.

Dhawan could have been given at least one more chance before being dropped. It will be an odd situation if he is back for the third Test, looking at the failure of both Murali Vijay and KL Rahul.

Next, talking of Ajinkya Rahanae, keeping him out is something which has taken everyone by surprise. Though he was not the man in form but has the best record outside sub-continent, which team India is in desperate need. There are still no sure shot chances of him making it to the playing XI for the third Test, which will mean that he will not feature in any of the Test matches.

Coming to bowling, the dropping of Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the thing that came down on Kohli. Former greats have questioned Virat Kohli’s tactic to drop the pacer who was the highest wicket-taker in the first Test and also contributed with the bat. He had two qualities in him, but still, he found himself warming the bench during the second Test.

Next surprising decision is the non-inclusion of Umesh Yadav. He had groomed leaps and bounds during team India’s home season, bowling on tracks which did not suit fast bowlers and when it was time to unleash him on bouncy pitches, he did not get a chance. He is not a part of the ODI team, and if he is not used by the Indian team in the third Test too, he will return to India without playing any game on tour.

Surely, the Indian skipper and team management need to answer few questions as despite making changes to the playing XI, the side has failed to deliver the results.

Follow India’s tour to South Africa here: South Africa Vs. India – Freedom Series

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