In the opening Test of a two-match series, South Africa’s captain Temba Bavuma chose to bowl first after winning the toss against India on Tuesday at the SuperSport Park in Centurion. Star pacer Jasprit Bumrah gave Prasidh Krishna his Test cap so he could play against South Africa on Boxing Day. On the morning of the game, prominent all-round player Ravindra Jadeja reported having upper back spasms. For the first Test, he was not available for selection.
The Men in Blue will be looking to win their first-ever Test series in South Africa after winning the ODI series 2-1 and drawing the T20I series 1-1. Veteran players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah will be playing their first international match after India’s defeat in the ICC Cricket World Cup final.
At the toss, Temba Bavuma declared, “We’ll bowl first.” Since the wicket has been covered, we want to take advantage of the moisture and start early. All of our boys are now in a reasonably fit state; Lungi is the only one who isn’t quite there yet. Today we have two debutants: David Bedingham and Nandre Burger. For this one, we have four seamers in the game. Although facing India is always challenging, we are prepared.” Along with the other pacers Shardul, Siraj, and Bumrah, Prasidh is making his debut,” stated India’s captain Rohit Sharma.
Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Tony de Zorzi, Temba Bavuma (c), Keegan Petersen, David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne (w), Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, Kagiso Rabada, and Nandre Burger are the members of South Africa’s playing eleven. India (Playing XI): Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (w), and Rohit Sharma (c).
