Despite being 1-0 up in the series, Faf du Plessis led team is in no mood to take India lightly in the second game of the series, which will be played from tomorrow in Centurion.

“We expect a huge performance from them as they are a very strong team. We don’t want to take a step back and rely on a 1-0 lead as if you do that they will pounce on you,” said Du Plessis on the eve of the match.

South African players had a close look at the surface a day before the game to adopt the morning conditions better. “I expect a good cricketing wicket with pace and bounce but it certainly looks browner than the previous one,” he further added.

Down with another injury, Dale Steyn will miss the Test series and left a vacant place behind him. Nagidi might be alike to like replacement but Chris Morris will add more experience in the team as he is a handy batsman down the order.

On the team combination, Du Plessis replied “The team that we selected last week was what we thought was the best team, Dale Steyn is among the world’s best bowler and he brings a lot to the table. With him missing, it will be a tough selection but it is a nice headache to have.”

He praised his fast bowlers, who were led by Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada in Steyn’s absence. “Rabada is a strong athlete and a strong bowler, he can bowl throughout the day, his best is yet to come as he is still learning. Vernon has worked on his fitness and has really improved as a bowler, he wanted the ball the whole time and never got tired, which was good to see,” he quoted.

South Africa is eyeing to replicate on their last performance in Centurion, but India has nothing to lose and everything to win from here on, which makes them very strong unit before the second contest.