Quick Edit: What will be a good total for Team India to post vs South Africa in Cape Town? | Cricket News – Times of India

It’s been fascinating to see the ball dominate the bat in the Test series in South Africa this time. If you can’t take 20 wickets, you can’t win a Test match and it’s the bowlers who have been dictating terms right through the series.
The highest total posted so far in the series has been 327 (India first innings in the first Test in Centurion).
It’s been very entertaining to watch the contest between bat and ball. In that context, Virat Kohli‘s 79 in the India first innings at Newlands was as good as a century. It’s no secret that batting has been difficult and the Indian captain showed what wonders proper Test match technique application can work.
With the series level at 1-1, the third Test which is currently on will decide who wins the series. Everyone knows that a result is almost imminent. The question is which team will have the last laugh?

Pujara and Kohli (AFP Photo)
With India currently batting in their second innings the one thing Indian cricket fans would love to know is what kind of a total will be a good one for India to post at Newlands to put pressure on the Proteas.
With so much time left in the match, India will be looking to bat flat out till they are all out, while of course keeping in mind the fact that they will need a certain amount of time to bowl South Africa out in their second innings of course. Partnerships will be key. The visitors can’t afford to lose wickets in a bunch.
The Indian middle order will have to step up big time so as to support their brilliant pace battery and give them enough of a cushion to bowl out the Proteas.
Let’s take a look at what kind of high totals have historically been chased down at Newlands in Test cricket over the years. That will give us a rough idea about what a good total can possibly be for Virat Kohli and co. to post against the hosts.

(Reuters Photo)
A look at the five highest successful run chases in Tests in Cape Town shows us this –
The highest successful run chases list at Newlands so far is topped by Australias 334-6 vs South Africa in the 2001-02 series. The Aussies were chasing 331 to win and reached the target in 79.1 overs. But that was 20 years ago.
More recently, the Proteas scored 236-2 against the Aussies in a Test played in the 2011-12 series. The target was 236 and the hosts reached it in 50.2 overs to register a 8 wicket win.
The third score on this list is South Africa’s 211-5 vs India in a Test played in the 2006-07 series. 211 was the target and the Proteas got to it in 64.1 overs to wrap up a 5 wicket win.
The fourth total on this list is from 2007-8 when South Africa beat the West Indies by 7 wickets. That was a low target of 185 and the Proteas got to it in 35.2 overs, losing 3 wickets in the process.
The fifth and most recent entry in this top 5 list is from the 2012-13 South Africa vs Pakistan series. Pakistan set South Africa a target of 182 and the Proteas chased that down in the fourth innings, losing as many as 6 wickets in the process in 43.1 overs.
So, four of the top 5 were chases of less than 300 and two were less than 200.

The fact that India will be bowling last should work in the visitors favour, provided of course they can put up a suitable target. The Proteas have traditionally been able to chase well at Newlands going by the list above, but this current South African team doesn’t have the likes of Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis, Mark Boucher, Quinton de Kock etc.
The likes of Dean Elgar and Keegan Petersen and Temba Bavuma will have to dig in deep if they are chasing anything upwards of 250.
Team India of course will try and throw everything, including the kitchen sink, to try and set a target north of 300. And for that they will have to put in a much better batting performance than the one we saw in the first innings at Newlands against the likes of Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Duanne Olivier and Marco Jansen.
After all, a historic series win and the chance to conquer the ‘final frontier’ is on the line.