Once again, rain threat looms large over India vs South Africa Test. While India look to take a 2-0 lead and register their first ever Test series win on South African soil, the weather forecast for upcoming days in Johannesburg does not look promising.
After rain washed away one full day's play in the first Test in Centurion, chances are that the second Test may get shortened by rain interruptions as well. As per accuweather.com, there are little chances of rain playing spoilsport on Day 1 of the second Test. A cloud cover of 62 per cent is expected during Day 1’s play which may help the fast bowlers.
Similar to first Test, Day 2 of Johannesburg Test is expected to be a rainy day. It may not wash out an entire day but there are 87 per cent chances of rain on January 4. If there are puddles all over the ground, it will take a huge effort from ground staff to dry the outfield and make it game-ready.
The Day 3's forecast of the Test looks better with only 25 per cent expectancy of rain. On the other hand, there is little play expected on Day 4 and Day 5 with 80 per cent chances of rain.
However, the weather forecasts don’t always turn out to be accurate. There were high chances of rain on Day 5 of the first Test but clear blue skies were seen for two sessions which helped India wrap up the game and register historic maiden Test win in Centurion by 113 runs.
Indian head coach Rahul Dravid also shared his experience of playing Test cricket at the venue in the pre-match virtual press conference.
“Tropical thunderstorms tend to occur on this place. Not really focus too much. The pitch looked good and looks like a typical Wanderers wicket. I think there might be something there for the bowlers. Batting gets a little bit hard towards the very end. Both teams are capable of taking 2-0 wickets. So, there is possibly a result over the course of the next five days,” Dravid told the reporters.
