The stage is set for two of the heavyweights of the game as Team India are all set to start their Test series against South Africa. It was a story of two halves for India in 2018 as they lost the Test series 1-2 but won the ODI and T20I series comprehensively.
This is a series in news for more than one reason. Firstly, the series was delayed by the outbreak of the Omicron variant and then by the captaincy saga surrounding Team India. With history not on the side in red-ball cricket, Team India will have its eyes cast on its first series win in the Rainbow Nation.
Middle-order selection will be a good problem to have
Team India will have a selection headache with multiple players buying for one spot in the middle order. Shreyas Iyer will claim for the fourth spot with impressive performances against New Zealand, while Hanuma Vihari could also come in handy.
The team will gave another selection dilemma as both Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have been struggling to score runs. The likes of Virat Kohli, Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul all remain first names on the team sheet. Rohit Sharma missing missing out on the tour has also decreased some pressure from the team management.
Who will miss out in the bowling department for India?
Head coach Dravid on Saturday evening’s press conference underlined the importance of every player, as he feels every player has a part to play. According to him, the team needs a complete performance and even needs contribution from the lower order. Vice-captain KL Rahul, on Friday, said, India will play with five bowlers as Ishant Sharma will have a race against time to be part of the team.
Currently, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj are winning the race for the spot in the team, while returning Jasprit Bumrah remains an automatic choice with his proven record. Ravichandran Ashwin will also eye a milestone as he can surpass World Cup winning skipper Kapil Dev’s tally of 434 Test wickets. Currently, the Chennai-born spinner has 427 wickets in the longer format.
Home advantage for the Proteas
The home advantage will play a crucial role in the series; this is according to South Africa skipper Dean Elgar. The hosts will be without Anrich Nortje, who was ruled out in the build-up to the series. While This will be the first time that South Africa will play in the current cycle of the World Test Championship (WTC) and will be eying some vital points in their maiden match.
The Proteas side contain four uncapped players in the form of Glenton Stuurman, Prenelan Subrayen, Sisanda Magala and Ryan Rickelton.
Head to Head
In seven tours, Team India managed to win only three Tests and will have some disappointing memories to erase. The first of those wins surprisingly came under current head coach Dravid’s captaincy in December 2006.
In 20 matches in the Rainbow nation, the hosts have won on 10 occasions while seven ended in draws. Overall, the teams have met on 39 occasions with South Africa edging India 15-14 as not much separates the two sides. India have lost both of its previous two Test encounters at Centurion.
