South Africa vs India, 1st Test: Match Preview, Playing XI and broadcast details

India are yet to win a series in South Africa, having travelled the nation seven times since 1992.

Published - 25 Dec 2021, 21:12 IST | Updated - 25 Dec 2021, 21:12 IST

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The upcoming assignment for India is being billed as the “final frontier”. In a sense or two, it will be indeed for Virat Kohli. Under him, India have won in Australia (2018-19) and currently lead an away England series 2-1, with a rescheduled match left to be played in mid-2022. Winning even solitary encounters in SENA countries is worn as a badge of pride by captains, a series-win, therefore, is no mean feat.

But Kohli, by his own admission, does not look to win a match “here and there” anymore. He and his men are hungry for series wins. To that end, victories in Australia and England have been pleasing. That’s the A and E of SENA done, but S and N are still unconquered. South Africa is where Kohli has his eyes set for now. It remains, and it remains not for Kohli, but any Indian captain in the nation’s Test history: South Africa is the only country where India is yet to win a series, having started that attempt in 1992.

It is a country that has been an important chapter in India’s overseas dominance. Again by Kohli’s admission, it was the victory in Johannesburg that had instilled belief in the team to win Tests overseas, which later metamorphosed into the belief of winning series. That 2018 series ended 2-1 in the favour of hosts, who went into the Johannesburg Test after securing victories in Cape Town and Centurion.

Starting strongly would be of paramount importance – to state the obvious, that’s essential in a three-match rubber: a loss at start and you leave yourself with only one method to seal the series. In conditions as challenging as those in South Africa, the margin of error and chances of securing back-to-back wins, both are low. The Boxing Day Test, then, assumes greater significance, as both teams would look to land the first punch at the earliest.

While South Africa has been used to having tumultuous build-ups – for the Proteas, there is always action in equal measure both on and off the field – India have not been in that territory often. As it stands, this series is different: an unceremonious captaincy snub, multiple reports flying all over, a captain publicly contradicting the board president’s statements, and strained relationships between the captain and the mightiest of cricket boards – BCCI – laid bare in the public domain.

As successful as Kohli the captain has been, his remains a story where the emphasis is continually laid on what he has not achieved than what he has. After being seemingly sacked as the ODI skipper after relinquishing the role in the T20Is himself, the only way to add the elusive ICC silverware in his empty trophy cabinet is the World Test Championship, towards which all three Tests will count.

Kohli will have plenty of challenges and questions thrown at him in the coming weeks, but the first and foremost one is selecting the right combinations for a series that is touted as India’s best chance to register a series victory on these shores of the world.

He boldly propagates outside noise as immaterial, but you would suspect if the same could be said of noises within. For someone who used to score centuries for fun, the 71st has eluded him for two years now. Of late, he has been discussed for reasons more non-cricketing than cricketing. He is no longer the all-powerful captain. Even as there is no right or wrong time to score runs, this series still could be the perfect time for him to rediscover his lost mojo.

Kohli is not alone in battling a drought of centuries, Cheteshwar Pujara has gone without one for 42 innings. And the state is so dire that despite adding Ajinkya Rahane into the mix, the grand total of centuries between this lofty trio in the last two years stands at one – Rahane’s 112 at the MCG in December 2020. He has played 21 innings since then and has been “ruled out” on the pretext of an injury on Kohli return for the Mumbai Test against New Zealand.

At the moment, Shreyas Iyer looks well in contention to pip Rahane in the Test setup, not least after his impressive debut against New Zealand, with scores of 105 and 65. But it is not Iyer alone vying that spot – there is an and/or question for him and Hanuma Vihari, in whose absence he found a chance to debut. India do not have the services of Ravindra Jadeja, Shubman Gill and Axar Patel, while they have also lost Rohit Sharma – the leading scorer of the format in 2021 – to an injury in the build-up.

But such is the depth of Indian cricket, they still don’t look watered down. South Africa skipper Dean Elgar understands that and is wary of India while giving his men a slight edge due to home advantage. The new in-charge Elgar has key personnel missing too, with Anrich Nortje forced out with a last-moment injury.

Meanwhile, the series holds no less importance, both emotionally and financially, for South Africa, who have been in the midst of turmoil(s) after a messy dealing of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) campaign followed by the disturbing revelations during the CSA’s Social Justice and Nation-Building (SJN) hearings that established how cricket in South Africa has been far from ideal, ravaged by the evils of racial discrimination.

Not to mention the highly volatile and conflict-riddled environment in the CSA board rooms and the Covid-19 enforced series cancellations of England and Australia in the last year. A new variant threatened the start of this series too, which as per the original schedule should have already seen the first Test concluded by now.

What on the cricket front, then? South Africa are no longer the dominant force they once used to be, with a dozen of legends (read: Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel) having retired in the last decade, leaving them in a recurring loop of transition.

But, despite being (relatively) short on experience, the team is not short on resources. So, you would write the Proteas off – at least in their backyard – at your own peril. However, to the end of missing personnel, more parity will be induced as the series progresses, with Quinton de Kock set to miss two-third of the series due to parental duties.

Elgar will have an able ally in Aiden Markram at the top, while Keegan Petersen would want to use this series to solidify his spot in the team alongside Rassie van der Dussen in the middle-order. Elgar’s deputy Temba Bavuma has returned to the fold after missing out the West Indies series with an injury, while South Africa have not five or six, but seven pace options (three uncapped) in their squad, including the Kolpak returnee Duanne Olivier, who will have to do the bulk of work alongside Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi in Nortje’s absence.

Although, unlike around a decade ago, when the Test series were often about India’s batting versus the opposition’s bowling, the team has dominantly established to the world their capability of taking 20 wickets in any conditions against any batting line-up. With Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj and Ishant Sharma in the mix, expect plenty of intriguing sub-plots emerging out of the grand series this promises to be.

Pitch and conditions

In the build-up to the series, Duanne Olivier said he could not recall when was there a draw in Centurion. He is not at fault, because there have only ever been three draws at the venue in 26 matches, the last being in 2009. The only way a result stays out of the picture is the weather, which is not clear for the first two days, with rain and thunderstorms forecast.

South Africa means green grass, pace, swing and bounce. This time won’t be an exception. Olivier further expects it to be a traditional Centurion track, which means it will progressively quicken up and offer tennis-ball bounce.

Playing combination for SA vs IND

South Africa

Keshav Maharaj will be the lone frontline spinner for the hosts, with a four-pronged pace attack led by Rabada alongside Olivier, Ngidi and all-rounder Wiaan Mulder.

Predicted XI: Dean Elgar (c), Aiden Markram, Keegan Petersen, Rassie van der Dussen, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock, Wiaan Mulder, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Duanne Olivier, Lungi Ngidi

India

India’s new vice-captain KL Rahul, who will open alongside Mayank Agarwal, clarified that India will go forward with their template of fielding five bowlers, while he admitted that would leave the team with a very difficult choice for the No. 5 spot.

Due to the Covid-19 situation, net sessions are all that the majority of the Indian squad has gotten as a chance to acclimatise themselves. Despite his stellar debut, the absence of warm-ups might work against Iyer in his tussle against Vihari, who has done everything expected of him thus far, including acing the chances against South Africa A in Bloemfontein, with scores of 25, 54, 72 not out, 63 and 13 not out in the three unofficial Tests.

Senior pro Rahane has been woefully short of runs, while Ishant Sharma has an adroit pacer Mohammed Siraj with not even one-tenth experience as him vying for the third pacer spot.

Predicted XI: KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane/Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant, Shardul Thakur, R Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj/Ishant Sharma.