South Africa vs India, 1st Test: Probable XIs, Match Prediction, Pitch Report, Weather Forecast, and Live Streaming Details
South Africa and India, having concluded their white-ball assignments, will now participate in a two-match Test series. The first game is scheduled to start on Tuesday, December 26, at the SuperSport Park in Centurion, South Africa.
The touring side have managed to do well in the multi-format series so far this time. While the Suryakumar Yadav-led T20I side tied the three-match series 1-1, KL Rahul led the Men in Blue to a 2-1 ODI series win, achieving a milestone.
Senior players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will be returning to action in the Test series, with the former at the helm of things. An almost full-strength Indian squad will be taking on the Proteas with an aim to win their first-ever Test series on South African soil.
The hosts will be captained by Temba Bavuma, with Dean Elgar set to play the final two Test games of his career. The former South African skipper announced his retirement from the format following the forthcoming series, and hence South Africa would like to give him a perfect farewell.
South Africa vs India Match Details
Match: South Africa vs India, 1st Test, India Tour of South Africa
Date and Time: December 26, 2023, 1:45 PM IST
Venue: SuperSport Park, Centurion
South Africa vs India Head-to-Head
South Africa and India have played each other in 42 Tests, with the former winning 17 and the latter clinching victories in 15 games. Ten games between the two teams have ended in a draw.
Matches Played: 42
South Africa: 17
India: 15
Draw: 10
South Africa vs India Pitch Report
The wicket at the venue has been supportive of batters and hence, the captain winning the toss would likely opt to bat first. Teams batting first have won 80% of games on this surface, with the average score of the team batting first, in the past 10 games, being 377.
South Africa vs India Weather Report
The weather is predicted to be clear throughout the five days of the first Test. While the temperature will hover around 28 degrees Celsius, the humidity will be around 40%.
South Africa vs India Probable XIs
South Africa
Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Tony de Zorzi, Temba Bavuma (c), Keegan Petersen, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Gerald Coetzee, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi
India
Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Prasidh Krishna, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
South Africa vs India Match Prediction
Being the hosts, South Africa will be the favorites to win the upcoming Boxing Day Test, but the Indian side can not be counted out. The Rohit Sharma-led side has put up fierce competition against the Proteas previously and will be expected to come all guns blazing in this series as well.
Prediction: The team batting first to win the match.
South Africa vs India Live Streaming details and channel list
TV: Star Sports Network
Live Streaming: Disney+ Hotstar