SA vs IND 1st Test Match – The 1st Test Match of India tour of South Africa 2023-24 will be played between South Africa vs India on Tuesday, 26 December 2023, at 1:30 PM 08:00 AM GMT / 10:00 AM LOCAL at SuperSport Park, Centurion.
The toss of this match will be done 30 minutes before the start of the match i.e. at 1:00 PM, as I have already been told that this match will be played between South Africa vs India teams, both teams have very good players.
Here Are the full details of the SA vs IND 1st Test Match Prediction, Pitch Report, Squad, Venue, Time and Date, Playing XI & Dream 11 team | South Africa vs India 1st Test Match India tour of South Africa 2023-24
SA vs IND 1st Test Match
| Series | India tour of South Africa 2023-24 |
| Match | South Africa vs India |
| Match Type | Test |
| Date | Tuesday, 26 December 2023 |
| Time | 1:30 PM 08:00 AM GMT / 10:00 AM LOCAL |
| Venue | SuperSport Park, Centurion |
| City | Centurion |
| Capacity | 22,000 |
| Host | South Africa |
When: South Africa vs India Match India tour of South Africa 2023-24 on Tuesday, 26 December 2023, 1:30 PM 08:00 AM GMT / 10:00 AM LOCAL
Where: SuperSport Park, Centurion
SA vs IND 1st Test Match Live Streaming and Broadcast
- Australia: Fox Cricket, 7Cricket; Kayo Sports
- India: Disney + Hotstar
- UK: Sky Sports
- New Zealand: SkyGo
- USA: Sling TV – Willow TV (Sign up here)
- Canada: Willow TV
- South Africa: SuperSport
SA vs IND 1st Test Match Pitch Report
The pitch of Super Sports Park Centurion is generally favorable for fast bowlers and batsmen because on this pitch the fast bowlers get help at the beginning of the match and their ball swings. In a test match, if any batsman bowls out the first 10 overs of the fast bowlers. After that, he can easily score a big score.
What to expect:
Team news:
South Africa: After picking three uncapped Test players in their squad for the Boxing Day Test, Nandre Burger, David Bendingham, and Tristan Stubbs, it remains to be seen if any will make the XI. Kagiso Rabada is expected to play after resting from the T20Is, ODIs, and warm-up fixture.
South Africa Key Players
- Temba Bavuma- the skipper picked up an injury towards the end of the 2023 Cricket World Cup but has been resting over the last month. He made a pair in his last Test at Centurion so he will be even more keen to contribute.
- Tony de Zorzi- after hitting 85 in his last Test appearance and making scores of 119 not out and 81 in the final two ODIs, the left-hander could be an excellent attacking option for South Africa in this Test.
- Kagiso Rabada- the right-arm quick bowler returned his best Test innings bowling figures of 7/112 and his best Test Match bowling figures of 13/144 at Centurion.
- Marco Jansen- the bowling all-rounder was one of the star performers during the 2023 Cricket World Cup where he picked up 17 wickets. He will be fresh and raring to go after being rested after the first two T20Is.
Probable XI: Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Tony de Zorzi, Temba Bavuma (capt), David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Gerald Coetzee, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi
South Africa Squad: Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Tony de Zorzi, Temba Bavuma(c), David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne(w), Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Gerald Coetzee, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Keegan Petersen, Wiaan Mulder, Nandre Burger, Tristan Stubbs
India: Over the ten days approaching this game, there have been three withdrawals from the India squad with Mohammed Shami and Ruturaj Gaikwad ruled out through injury and Ishan Kishan leaving for personal reasons. KS Bharat was added to the squad and Abhimanyu Easwaraan is also expected to be called up.
India Key Players
- Virat Kohli- although the former skipper has returned home for personal reasons, he is expected back in time for the Boxing Day Test where he will be looking to add to his tally of 80 international centuries.
- Rohit Sharma- the right-handed opener comes into this Test in strong form in this format after hitting scores of 43. 103, 80, and 57 from his last four innings.
- Jasprit Bumrah- the vice-captain has 8x five-wicket hauls to his name in Test cricket and will begin this Test in Centurion with 351 international wickets.
- Ravindra Jadeja- the all-rounder is a vital part of this Indian side where he so often contributes to important partnerships with the bat and will get plenty of spin as the match progresses.
Probable XI: Rohit Sharma (capt), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
India Squad: Rohit Sharma(c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Ravichandran Ashwin, Srikar Bharat, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Mukesh Kumar
SA vs IND 1st Test Match Winner
Draw
SA vs IND 1st Test Match Prediction
India will be happy with their returns so far on this tour but South Africa have also contributed to the fine T20I and ODI series. Fans of both teams will now be looking forward to this Test series which promises to be another keenly contested two games. South Africa has an exciting young bowling attack but player for player we think that India has more depth in both their batting and bowling units. Our prediction is for a close Boxing Day Test in Centurion, but we are backing India to win.
We expect Draw to win this match.
SA vs IND 1st Test Match Top Fantasy Picks
- Tony de Zorzi
- Rohit Sharma
- Virat Kohli
- Yashasvi Jaiswal
- Temba Bavuma
- Aiden Markram
- Ravindra Jadeja
- Ravichandran Ashwin
- Marco Jansen
- Jasprit Bumrah
- Keshav Maharaj
SA vs IND 1st Test Match Dream11 Fantasy Team
Wicketkeepers: KL Rahul
Batters: Tony de Zorzi, Virat Kohli, Dean Elgar, Temba Bavuma, Aiden Markram
Allrounders: Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Marco Jansen
Bowlers: Jasprit Bumrah, Keshav Maharaj
SA vs IND 1st Test Match Both Team Top Batsmen
Aiden Markram, Tony de Zorzi, and Temba Bavuma are our batting selections for South Africa. Markram was the captain during the T20I and ODI series and has been one of South Africa’s most consistent and stylish all-format batters over recent years. Although he is yet to make a century in 16 all-format international innings in Centurion and made two ducks in the last Test here, Bavuma averages 55.00 from 11 Test innings at this venue.
We are backing Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill with the bat for India. Gill has never played Test cricket against South Africa before but he will enjoy the pace on offer from their bowlers and has been in fine form across all formats in 2023. Captain Sharma has hit over 18200 international runs and 45 international centuries with four of them coming this year.
SA vs IND 1st Test Match Both Team Top Team Bowlers
We recommend Kagiso Rabada, Gerald Coetzee and Marco Jansen as our bowling picks for South Africa. The young and powerfully built pace bowler Coetzee has made a big impact across all formats since making his international debut this year and took 20 wickets during the 2023 Cricket World Cup. Jansen causes problems with his left-arm angle and his height which has seen him pick up 85 wickets from 35 international appearances.
Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Ravindra Jadeja are our bowling choices for India. Siraj played in the T20I series earlier on this tour and although he only took 1 wicket, his overall bowling performance level was a lot higher than that would suggest as he beat the bat on a regular basis. Jadeja causes problems with the pace of his spin bowling and he has taken 12x five-wicket hauls in Test cricket.