South Africa VS India 1st Test – Preview

India has already dominated the T20 and ODI series against South Africa, now it is time to head for the Test Series. The first match happens in the traditional theme of Boxing Day. These two matches will be crucial, especially for the hosts who will seek consolation after being topped in both series.

South Africa

Inside the Proteas camp, much talk has been about Dean Elgar, the veteran batsman, who is going to play his international match with the series. The 36-year-old batsman has played 85 Test matches scoring over 5000 runs in 12 years in the national colors. Throughout that period, he has captained Proteas 17 times in the longest format. Elgar began his test match against Australia with the infamous duck then things changed completely when he scored 103 against New Zealand.

Since then, he never looked back cementing his place as one of the important members of the squad. With Kagiso Rabada, having rested in the ODI series, he is still in doubt about whether will take part in the series. The world-class bowler is expected to go further assessment to determine his fitness. Another player who is missing in the bowling attack is Anrich Nortje – he has been suffering from a lumbar stress fracture. He has been out of the action since September. With both pacers missing, Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee are expected to lead the bowling attack.

The duo is coming on the back of having to play well in the World Cup in India. Jansen and Cotzee are still new in the white ball structure having taken 44 wickets and 11 respectively. Proteas will also welcome Temba Bavuma having last played in the semi-final loss against India.

India

India will go to the test match with a positive attitude after having won both the T20 and ODI series since arriving in the Tour in December. Now to the longest format, Virat Kohli, one of the most experienced batsmen in the side will miss this match. Kohli, who has only arrived in the country after missing the ODI series, left due to family commitments. His miss will leave a big hole in the Indians line-up, who are missing some of the big-name players.

Another missing player is Ruturaj Gaikwad, the young bowler who failed to recover on time from the finger injury suffered in the second ODI match between the two nations. But the Indians are not short of batsmen as it presents the opportunity for Sarfaraz Khan and Rohit Sharma to lead from the front.

Now with all Indians being scattered through the formats an opportunity for other players to get the chance.