India play their first Test match against South Africa on Boxing Day – 26 December. This will be Rohit Sharma-led team’s first assignment in the 2-match series and will be played at th Supersport Park at Centurion. The match will see the comeback of several top Indian stars who were away from the game after the loss in the World Cup 2023 Finals.
Ahead of the match, the Indian batting unit which comprises Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill and KL Rahul were seen in intense practice sessions. The Board of Control for Cricket in India put up a video a day ahead of the Test match with the top India batters in the nets.
India have never won a Test series in the South African soil and would look to change that in the 2-match series. India will be without one of their top pacers in the series – Mohammed Shami, who was deemed not fit enough by the BCCI to play in the series. India also added KS Bharat and Abhimanyu Easwaran late in the build-up to the Test series after Ishan Kishan pulled out and Ruturaj Gaikwad copped a blow on his finger.
India are coming off a draw in the T20I series and a 2-1 win in the ODI format of the game. So far, the India bowlers have dominated South Africa batters, but that equation is expected to change in the Test series. Last time India played a Test series in South Africa, tempers had flared which eventually resulted in Virat Kohli stepping down from his position of India’s captain in red-ball cricket. This series will also be former South Africa captain Dean Elgar’s farewell Test outing.
