• Faf, Kohli differ on pitch

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    Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli have opposing views on the SuperSport Park wicket ahead of the second Test.

    A green pitch with bounce and pace would suit the Proteas, but the heat in Pretoria has burned some of the grass on the surface, leaving brown patches.

    Du Plessis, however, was still hopeful of a surface that would suit his team’s four-pronged pace attack when he faced the media on Friday.

    ‘The wicket looks a bit browner than I thought it would be. From what I got from the groundsman, the grass on the wicket has been burned from the heat last week when it was very hot.

    ‘We’ve asked for pace and bounce, so hopefully, we will get that over the next five days.

    ‘As you can see, there is not a lot of green grass. I expect a good cricket wicket and hopefully a bit of pace and bounce.’

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    ‘To be really honest, I don’t know [if it will spin],’ Du Plessis added. ‘Generally, Centurion doesn’t spin that much but there is a thick layer of brown grass on it so it’s not something that we’re used to seeing at Centurion.

    ‘For us, at the moment, it’s unknown. We’ll see how it plays over the next five days. For us to get the conditions we would like, the ball must spin as little as possible.’

    Virat Kohli had a different take.

    ‘It looks like a very lively pitch, exactly how we expected to be. We want it that way so that both teams can be in the contest, provided that they play good cricket.

    ‘We were very happy with the way the pitch behaved in Cape Town. It gave us a lot of opportunities to stay in the game. It gave us an opportunity to make comebacks but also put pressure on us as well.

    ‘This pitch will once again test us to play our best cricket and it’s something we looking forward to.’

    The second Test starts at Centurion at 10:00.

    Photo: Chris Ricco/BackpagePix

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    Khalid Mohidin