India's start to the 1st Boxing Day Test match against South Africa was delayed due to a wet-outfield in Centurion's SuperSport Park. (Scorecard | Live Blog | Full Coverage)
The delay was due to few damp spots on the pitch and were dried off with a use of a hair-dryer. The weather however at Centurion does not make a good reading. As per AccuWeather's weather forecast, there are 96 per cent chances of rain with thunderstorms.
"Mainly cloudy with occasional rain and a thunderstorm." Centurion will experience thunderstorms between 7 and 9 am local time, before having a spell of heavy afternoon showers.
India haven't won a Test series in South Africa and remains their only frontier. Apart from wins in England, New Zealand, Australia and other countries, it will be a huge feat for Rohit Sharma and his men if they pull off a series win. This two-match series, for the record, is part of the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25.
Indian team looked relaxed as they continued their pre-match drills whereas the South African camp too were practicing in the outfield. Kagiso Rabada is fit to play but Lungi Ngidi remains a doubt. As for Team India, Prasidh Krishna is all set to make his Test debut. He was handed his cap by the Indian vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah.
Squads:
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Prasidh Krishna, KS Bharat (wk), Abhimanyu Easwaran (2nd Test).
South Africa: Temba Bavuma (captain), Aiden Markram, Tony de Zorzi, Dean Elgar, Keegan Petersen, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Tristan Stubbs (wk), Nandre Burger, Marco Jansen, Wiaan Mulder, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, David Bedingham.
