India vs South Africa 2019, 1st Test: Why India should have sent Kohli in place of Pujara at No. 3 on Day 2

It was a bit of a surprise to see Cheteshwar Pujara striding out at number three when Rohit Sharma fell in an attempt to accelerate the run rate during India’s first innings against South Africa at Visakhapatnam.

India had already crossed 300 when the first wicket fell. The run rate in the first session was around five per over, which was exactly what India needed considering inclement weather is predicted on all five days and that the third session of the first day was already washed out.

Rohit and Agarwal had laid a perfect foundation, or possibly much more than a foundation, with a record-breaking triple-century opening stand in their debut partnership.

Rohit Sharma

So when the first wicket fell with India in the ascendancy and weather being more of an obstacle than the South African bowling, the Indian team management should have been more proactive. Pujara might be India’s second best Test batsman in this current Indian set-up, but he is not known for scoring quickly.

India needed to continue being aggressive, without being reckless. Who better than the world’s best batsman, Virat Kohli, to carry the momentum forward?

With Pujara at the crease, the run rate predictably stalled. The second wicket partnership has scored just seven runs in six overs at the lunch break, and that has not helped India’s cause with rain being an imminent threat and time being of utmost importance.

Cheteshwar Pujara

The argument for sending Pujara in at No. 3 could be the fact that the second new ball was due; India may have wanted someone like Pujara to blunt the new ball, with some swing on offer. In ordinary circumstances, that would have been a perfectly sensible decision.

But with India already sitting pretty on a 300-plus score, coupled with a slow-ish pitch and just two pacers to operate with, India should not have been afraid to ‘expose’ the side's best batsman in those conditions.

In the worst possible situation, if it had resulted in the wicket of Kohli, then India could have sent Pujara to ensure that there was no collapse. But more likely, it would have led to an experienced Kohli seeing out the new ball attack and then getting on with a positive run rate.

India seem to have missed a trick by not sending Kohli at number three.

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