Boxing Day Test: South Africa elect to field against India
South Africa and India are set to lock horns in the Boxing Day Test in Centurion. The Men in Blue will aim to write history this time by winning their first Test series in SA. Notably, India won the Centurion Test on the 2021/22 tour. The news from the center is that SA have won the toss and elected to field.
Prasidh Krishna makes his Test debut
South Africa (Playing XI): Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Tony de Zorzi, Temba Bavuma (captain), Keegan Petersen, David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne (wicket-keeper), Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, Kagiso Rabada, and Nandre Burger. India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wicket-keeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna.
A look at the head-to-head
India and SA have featured in 42 Test matches against each other. The Proteas have the upper hand with 17 wins to India's 15 while registering 10 draws. Since the inaugural 1992 series, SA at home have won seven out of their eight Test series against India. It was only in the 2010-11 Test series that India managed a draw against the Proteas.
India won the Centurion Test in 2021
In 2021, India became only the third Test-playing nation to defeat South Africa in Centurion. They have ended the winning streak of the Proteas, who had won seven consecutive Tests at the SuperSport Park since December 2014.
Venue, broadcast details, and more
Centurion's SuperSport Park Stadium will host the first Test between SA and India from December 26-30. The pitch will have enough for the fast bowlers, who can extract bounce and movement. Spinners will come into play once the ball gets old. Star Sports Network will broadcast it live in India, while fans can live-stream the match on Disney+ Hotstar.
Here are the key players
Kohli has amassed 1,236 runs from 14 matches against SA at 56.18. He has slammed three centuries and four fifties against the Proteas. Elgar owns 811 runs against India from 13 matches, slamming four fifties and a solitary ton. Rabada has claimed 44 Test wickets against India in 12 matches. Meanwhile, Jadeja has scalped 42 wickets against SA in eight Tests (5W: 3).
