Indian batsman Cheteshwar Pujara has described the Wanderers' wicket as one of the toughest he has played on and asserted that his side has enough runs on the board as the pitch would only get tougher to bat on.
Pujara scored a grinding half-century off 179 balls as India were bowled out for 187 runs in their first innings. South Africa finished at 6/1 at stumps.
"I think this is one of the toughest pitch I have played on. It was difficult to score runs especially in the first session. It was difficult to rotate the strike. There was a lot of bounce and seam movement, and there is enough pace now," said Pujara on Wednesday.
"So we had to work hard to score runs. On this wicket, you won't be able to bat without getting beaten. I won't say my knock was a struggle. You do get beaten and at the end of the day if you can score a fifty on this pitch, it is a good knock."
Pujara said 187 was a decent first innings total on the seaming surface.
"The total we have now, I think it is as good as scoring 300 runs on any wicket. We also got a wicket and if we bowl well we will get them out (cheaply). I would say it was a good day for us."
On a green-top, India opted for an all seam attack but surprisingly batted first after winning the toss. Pujara took 54 balls to get off the mark after the openers were dismissed early.