IND vs SA Day 1: As rain continued, only 59 overs of play was possible on Day 1 of the India vs South Africa Boxing Day Test. India closed the day at 208/8 with KL Rahul rescuing India with an unbeaten 70. Kagiso Rabada was India’s nemesis with 14th Test fifer as he dismissed both Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer. Virat Kohli did try his best with India down to 24/3, adding 68 runs with Iyer but he fell for 38.
Previously, South Africa captain Temba Bavuma won the toss and opted to bowl in Centurion. India have handed debut to Prasidh Krishna while Ravindra Jadeja is ruled out with Ravichandran Ashwin coming in his place. For South Africa, Nandre Burger and David Bedingham are making Test debuts.
South Africa Playing XI: Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Tony de Zorzi, Temba Bavuma(c), Keegan Petersen, David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne(w), Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, Kagiso Rabada, Nandre Burger
India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma(c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
4:19 PM IST: South Africa had a chance to kill the game in the first session but dropped catches and loose bowling has give India a sniff. Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer have settled down after early jitters and the pair will be looking to make the most of the second chance.
1:45 PM IST: Rohit Sharma has lost another crucial toss and as expected Temba Bavuma has opted to bowl in cloudy Centurion. India have handed debut to Prasidh Krishna while Ravindra Jadeja is ruled out with an injury.
1:37 PM IST: Prasidh Krishna will make his Test debut. He has being handed his cap by Jasprit Bumrah, India vice captain.
1:32 PM IST: Update! Toss will happen in 15 minutes. Play will start at 2:00 PM IST.
1:15 PM IST: Pitch Report | Shaun Pollock and Ravi Shastri: Good covering of grass. Teams tend to bat first because it tends to start a bit slow. As the Test progresses, there might be a bit of up and down movement which could be tricky to handle. Batting will get difficult as the Test progresses. With the weather conditions, South Africa would be tempted to go without a spinner. With the sun out, the pitch tends to crack a bit more and get the spinners into play. Don’t expect the pitch to change too much across the Test. The best approach is bat first, guts it out in the first two session and be happy if you’re just 2 down at Lunch.
12:50 PM IST: There will be a pitch inspection at 10AM (local time), about 40 minutes from now.
12:45 PM IST: Expect a delay in Toss for Boxing Day Test Match because of wet outfield.
12:30PM IST: Dark clouds are still surrounding the SuperSport Park. The chances of rain are very high on Tuesday here in Centurion.
11:45 AM IST: Outfield at SuperSport Park is still wet due to constant showers. A delayed start can be expected for this Boxing Day Test match.
