The last time Nagpur hosted a Test match in November 2015, South Africa stepped onto a square turner. The highest team total in the 3-day Test was India’s 215 in the first innings, and pacers from both sides were only for the display. Only seven of the 40 wickets to fall went to the fast bowlers, each of those picked by the South African pair of Kagiso Rabada and Morne Morkel.

Not for the first time this series, an Indian cricketer was asked about conditions and their co-relation to India’s preparation for the forthcoming tour of South Africa. Only this time, Virat Kohli went ahead and conceded, “Yes, because unfortunately we get only two days before we fly to South Africa after this series gets over. So we have no choice but be in game situation and think of what’s coming ahead of us. Had we got a month off ideally, we would have done a proper preparation in a camp sort of scenario but we have to sort of make do with what we have.”

But India’s plan of testing their skills on seaming tracks before the big tour may not come to fulfillment in Nagpur. At least, that’s what Dinesh Chandimal would like to believe from what he’s seen off the pitch. Despite the presence of grass cover at the VCA stadium, the Sri Lankan skipper feels that the pitch will not assist the pacers as much as the Eden Gardens.

India’s premier Test spinner bowled eight overs and didn’t manage to take a single scalp. When Ashwin last played in Nagpur, he walked away with a bagful of wickets. Green surface or dry, there are certain chances that Murali Vijay will come back to his opening slot as Shikhar Dhawan has opted out of the second Test with personal reasons.

Apart from Vijay, Team India has a batting concern to address. In unfavourable conditions, the entire top-order – except Cheteshwar Pujara – looked in trouble on the first morning, and will surely need to do better if India wants to win Test matches in South Africa. Sri Lanka too will get into a gathering and talk about the fourth-innings trouble that nearly cost them the first Test, while also discussing ways to provide better support to pacer Suranga Lakmal.

Weather forecast at Nagpur suggests that all the 5 days will be sunny with maximum temperature hovering in the early 30s. The surface has a bit of grass on it but may not carry the demons of Eden Gardens, considering the weather in Nagpur is expected to be nothing like it was in Kolkata during the first Test.

With Vijay to replace Dhawan, Ishant Sharma might replace Bhuvneshwar Kumar in teh Indian squad. It could be interesting to see if the team management gets tempted to play an extra batsman as Rohit Sharma to cover for the handy lower-order contributions of Bhuvneshwar, which they won’t have in the game. If the Nagpur wicket turns out to be as dry as it usually is, they might not need that change.

On the other hand, Sri Lanka’s decision to field Dasun Shanaka as the all-around option provided mixed results as Shanaka did a decent job by picking 5 wickets in the first Test. But Chandimal has been a strong advocate of a combination that includes six batsmen, four bowlers, and an all-rounder, which should keep Shanaka on the side.

In favorable conditions, Lahiru Gamage put in a diminishing performance. If Sri Lanka do seek a replacement, left-arm pacer Vishwa Fernando could be an option. Chinaman bowler Lakshan Sandakan could also be in the running for a spot in the playing XI, if they feel that spin could take precession, as it always does, in Nagpur.

Some interesting facts:

• VCA Stadium in Nagpur has lowest run rate among all Indian venues (2.91) which hosted at least two Test matches since 2007.
• Dinesh Chandimal will become the 13th Sri Lankan to reach the milestone of 3000 runs if he scores 22 more runs in the Nagpur Test.
• Dilruwan Perera and Suranga Lakmal need four and five wickets respectively to reach 100 Test wickets. For India, Umesh Yadav is three away and Mohammed Shami eight from the same milestone.

Probable XIs

India: Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma/Rohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav

Sri Lanka: Sadeera Samarawickrama, Dimuth Karunaratne, Lahiru Thirimanne, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Dasun Shanaka/Lakshan Sandakan, Niroshan Dickwella, Dilruwan Perera, Rangana Herath, Lahiru Gamage/Vishwa Fernando, Suranga Lakmal