Virat-led team India has been a dominating force at home with win in 24 of their 30 Tests at home and just one loss vs Australia, since 2013. India secured a 203-run victory in 1st Test and will look to attain inaccessible 2-0 lead in the three-match rubber against South Africa in Pune Test.


With win in the first Test, team India are currently on top of the ICC World Test Championship Points table with 160 points. Virat and Co. have maintained 100 per cent win record in World Test Championship by defeating West Indies in away tour and South Africa in 1st Test at Vizag.

Pune has always been a high-scoring ground but one would expect good amount of support for the spinners.

WEATHER UPDATE: There's a threat of rain through the course of the 2nd Test at Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune.

TOSS UPDATE: India won the toss and opted to bat first at Pune.


Virat Kohli: Looks like a hard wicket. Runs on the board and on this surface, the ball will eventually turn here on Day 2 and 3, so Day 1 will be the best time to bat. The players were putting pressure on me to win the toss. With the grass on the pitch and the reverse option on this track, we needed a new seam option.

Skipper Faf du Plessis has decided to bring in Nortje for Piedt in Playing XI.

Faf du Plessis: There is a bit of grass on this morning, but I was asking Virat to teach me the sleight of hand trick to win tosses in India. We're bringing in Nortje for Piedt, so just a bit of extra pace here. That first innings was positive, that showed that we could score big even in India. A Test debut for any player is a special thing.

Teams:

South Africa (Playing XI): Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Theunis de Bruyn, Temba Bavuma, Faf du Plessis(c), Quinton de Kock(w), Senuran Muthusamy, Vernon Philander, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje

India (Playing XI): Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami