India will be gunning for a first-ever Test series win in South Africa as captain Virat Kohli's team takes on the host for the second Test at the Wanderers Stadium on Monday.
"It's a ground we all loving playing on and we are looking forward to it," said Kohli after India won the first Test at Centurion by 113 runs on Thursday.
The numbers bear out Kohli's optimism.
India has yet to be beaten in a Test match at South Africa's premier cricket stadium and has a record of two wins and three draws since its first tour of South Africa in 1992/93.
Despite the Wanderers being renowned as a ground favoring fast bowlers – which should have put India at a disadvantage on some of its earlier tours, before the emergence of its potent current pace bowling attack – India has performed consistently well in Johannesburg.
The ground holds particularly happy memories for some of the Indian touring party.
New coach Rahul Dravid made his first Test century in a drawn match in 1996/97 and 10 years later captained India to its first Test win in South Africa.
Kohli gave a batting masterclass when he made 119 and 96 in a high-scoring draw in 2013/14 to enable India to set the hosts a seemingly impossible target of 458 runs to win.
In that match, though, South Africa came close to beating India for the only time in Johannesburg, making 450 for eight in a dramatic draw.
Kohli then led India to victory on a sub-standard pitch four seasons ago, a win he has highlighted as a "milestone" which gave the side the belief to follow up with a series win in Australia last January.
It also leads England 2-1 with the final Test – called off last year due to COVID-19 in the Indian camp – to be played later in 2022.
Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane all made crucial runs on a pitch that was halted at one stage because conditions were regarded as dangerous, while Mohammed Shami, one of the heroes of the win in Centurion, took five for 28 in the second innings.
A series win in South Africa remains a final frontier for India, who now have the opportunity to wrap up a historic triumph with a match to spare.
India was superior in all departments at Centurion, although South Africa's fast bowlers came back strongly after a poor first day.
The home side's batting was inadequate against a well-disciplined Indian bowling attack.
The middle order is vulnerable in the absence of the now-retired Quinton de Kock, while the opening batsmen, captain Dean Elgar and Aiden Markram, have failed to stay together beyond the second over of an innings in South Africa's last three Tests.
The scale of the defeat in the first Test has presented the home camp with several headaches.
Elgar hinted at a change in the batting order and there are several permutations that are likely to be discussed.
Kyle Verreynne is expected to be De Kock's successor as a wicketkeeper-batsman but South Africa will debate whether to add another specialist batsman in place of all-rounder Wiaan Mulder.
As is often the case at the Wanderers, South Africa could consider picking an all-pace attack, with left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj having only played in two of a possible six Tests at the ground, in one of which – against Sri Lanka last season – he was not called on to bowl.
India, meanwhile, has the luxury of considering whether to tamper with a winning team.
South Africa: Dean Elgar (capt), Aiden Markram, Sarel Erwee, Keegan Petersen, Rassie van der Dussen, Temba Bavuma, Kyle Verreynne (wkt), Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Duanne Olivier, Lungi Ngidi, Glenton Stuurman.
India: Virat Kohli (capt), KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Risabh Pant (wkt), Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
