IND vs SA Match Preview- 1st Test, 2023

The climax of India’s tour of South Africa 2023 has arrived and both teams will clash with each other in a Test series. The IND vs SA Test series will observe two matches. The IND vs SA 1st Test will start on Tuesday, December 26.

India last played a Test series long back in August against West Indies. India won that series 1-0. The visitors outplayed West Indies by an innings and 141 runs in 1st Test. The 2nd Test ended in a draw after getting affected by rain.

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South Africa’s previous campaign in Tests was against West Indies in February-March this year. They played three games on their home soil and outplayed West Indies in two games out of three. South Africa won the 1st Test by 87 runs and the 2nd Test by 284 runs.

However, the series was part of the previous World Test Championship cycle. South Africa will commence their journey in the ICC WTC 2023-25 with the series against India. The men-in-blue holds the top spot in the WTC points table with 1 win and 1 defeat.

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IND vs SA Match Preview- 1st 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 short of Test specialists like Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara.

In bowling, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin will showcase their experience. Mohammed Shami is absent from the Test series. Youngsters like Mukesh Kumar and Prasidh Krishna have a superb opportunity to show their might in the series.

IND Squad: 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 IND vs SA Test series. South Africa’s batting strength lies in batters like Aiden Markram, Dean Elgar, and Temba Bavuma. However, other batters are quite inexperienced in Tests.

In bowling, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi will be back to the side after missing the ODI and T20Is series. Young pacers like Gerald Coetzee and Nandre Burger will have to pull up their socks against a strong opponent like India.

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SA Squad: 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.