The climax of India’s tour of South Africa 2023 has arrived and both the teams will face each other in a Test series. The IND vs SA Test series will observe two matches. The first IND vs SA test will begin on Tuesday, December 26.
The last time India played a Test series was in August against the West Indies. India won that series 1-0. The visitors edged out the West Indies by an innings and 141 runs in the first Test. The 2nd Test ended in a draw after being affected by rain.
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South Africa’s previous Test campaign was against the West Indies in February-March this year. They played three matches on home soil and beat the West Indies in two of three matches. South Africa won the first Test by 87 runs and the second Test by 284 runs.
However, the series was part of the previous World Test Championship cycle. South Africa will begin its journey in the ICC WTC 2023-25 with the series against India. The men in blue occupy first place in the WTC points table with 1 win and 1 loss.
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IND vs SA Match Preview: First Test, 2023
India
Rohit Sharma leads India in IND vs SA test series. India’s batting department will be led by players like Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer. The team is missing Test specialists like Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara.
In bowling, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin will show their experience. Mohammed Shami is absent from the Test series. Youngsters like Mukesh Kumar and Prasidh Krishna get a great opportunity to show their power in the series.
IND Team: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Abhimanyu Easwaran, KL Rahul (WK), Srikar Bharat, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Ravichandran Ashwin , Ravindra Jadeja.
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South Africa
Temba Bavuma is the captain of South Africa in the IND vs SA test series. South Africa’s batting strength lies in batsmen like Aiden Markram, Dean Elgar and Temba Bavuma. However, other batsmen are quite inexperienced in Tests.
In bowling, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi will return to the team after missing the ODI and T20I series. Young pacers like Gerald Coetzee and Nandre Burger will have to struggle against a strong opponent like India.
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SA Team: Temba Bavuma (Captain), Tony de Zorzi, Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Keegan Petersen, Marco Jansen, Nandre Burger, Gerald Coetzee, Wiaan Mulder, David Bedingham, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada.