Centurion: South Africa captain Temba Bavuma won the toss and opted to bowl first against India in the first Test of a two-match series here at the SuperSport Park in Centurion on Tuesday.
Prasidh Krishna received his Test cap from star pacer Jasprit Bumrah, to make his debut in the Boxing Day Test against South Africa. Meanwhile, star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja complained of upper back spasms on the morning of the match. He was not available for selection for the first Test.
After drawing the T20I series 1-1 and winning the ODI series 2-1, Men in Blue will be aiming to win their first-ever Test series in South Africa.
This will also be the first international assignment of veteran players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah following the loss to Australia in the ICC Cricket World Cup finals.
Speaking at the time of toss, Temba Bavuma said, “We’ll bowl first. Wicket has been under covers, we want to use the moisture and make early inroads. Our boys have all got into reasonably fit conditions, Lungi is the only one who’s not yet fully fit. Two debutants today – Nandre Burger and David Bedingham. We’re playing with four seamers for this one. It is always difficult to come up against India, but we are ready with our preparation.”
“Wasn’t too sure. We are quite aware of the conditions, we have been here a few times. We need to put runs on the board and the bowlers will do the job for us. We do understand the challenge of batting first with the overhead conditions and the grass, but the guys are up for the challenge. Everytime we come here, we come with high hopes. We’ve come close in the last 2 tours. We are pretty confident with our squad and the make-up of our squad. We are playing with four seamers and a spinner. Ashwin is playing in place of Jadeja. Jaddu had a bit of a back spasm, so Ashwin comes in and he is a quality spinner to have. Prasidh is making his debut, along with the other pacers Shardul, Siraj and Bumrah,” India skipper Rohit Sharma said.
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 and Prasidh Krishna.