Sanjay Bangar Explains Why India Have Not Had a Series Win in South Africa

Former Indian cricketer and coach, Sanjay Bangar spoke on why India has never been able to defeat South Africa on their home soil. The Proteas have a longstanding record of being undefeated at home against India in the five-day format. However, the record will be on the line once again as both sides gear up to take each other on in the Boxing Day Test match at the SuperSport Park Cricket Stadium in Centurion.

Speaking to Star Sports the former Indian batting coach explained the reason why he believes India has not been able to claim a Test series win over South Africa. “India has not won a Test series in South Africa because they play 2 Tests or 3-match Test series. If they get to play four or 5-match Test series, it would reflect in their performance,” said Bangar.

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He believes that playing a longer series as in, a four or five-match series would help the Indian side adapt and get settled in the conditions in South Africa.

Regarding the Boxing Day Test, Bangar also commented on what the conditions would be like at Centurion. The match which is being held at the SuperSport Park Cricket Stadium is a ground that lacks a little bit of pace compared to the other stadiums. Bangar believes that playing here will help India get settled and used to the conditions for the second Test in Cape Town.

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Senior players like the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah are making their return to international cricket after the heartbreaking WC 2023 finals loss against Australia. They will look to get back into good form as they aim to secure their first series win over the Proteas on South African soil.

India’s Squad for SA Tests: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Abhimanyu Easwaran, KL Rahul (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Prasidh Krishna, KS Bharat (wk).