India vs South Africa Boxing Day Test: Rain and India’s team combination in focus

Team India will take on South Africa in the Boxing Day Test at the Supersport Park in Centurion, starting Tuesday, December 26. This will be the concluding part of India's tour of South Africa. The visitors had earlier leveled the T20I series 1-1 before going on to clinch the ODI series by a 2-1 margin.

Senior batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were not part of the white-ball leg of the tour, but have joined the team for the Test series. Like in the ODI World Cup, the two veteran cricketers will be crucial to India’s fortunes as they seek to register their maiden Test series win in South Africa.

The visitors will be without the services of Mohammed Shami for the Test matches. The seasoned pacer has been ruled out due to a heel injury. Further, KS Bharat has come in for Ishan Kishan, who had requested a break due to personal reasons. India will have also brought in Abhimanyu Easwaran for Ruturaj Gaikwad, who hurt himself during the ODI series.

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Rain threat looms over opening day of Boxing Day Test

There is a forecast for rain during Day 1 of the first Test in Centurion. (Pic: Getty Images)

The weather forecast for the opening day of the India vs South Africa Test match is not quite bright. There is a possibility of heavy rain on Day 1 in Centurion, while the second day could also be affected by the weather.

Centurion curator Bryan Bloy was recently quoted as telling PTI:

"Temperature will be super low, like 20 degrees. The temperature is now 34 and it will drop to 20. I don't know what conditions will be like, whether we will get play on Day 1. Hopefully we will get some play and it will be cool on Day 3 and I don't know how much turn will be available."

Bloy added that if the pitch remains undercover due to rain, the team batting first is likely to find it very tough.

"I can't guarantee the forecast but if it remains under cover for the better part of the two days then that might be tricky to bat first, because it’s been covered for so long and hasn't been rolled for so long, we don't know how long we will have to get the field ready for play in current situation,” he stated.

Incidentally, the visitors beat South Africa by 113 runs in the opening Test in Centurion during their previous tour in 2021-22. However, they lost the next two matches to concede the Test series 2-1.

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KL Rahul set to keep wickets

KL Rahul has put his hands up to keep wickets in the Test matches. (Pic: Getty Images)

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, December 24, head coach Rahul Dravid more or less confirmed that KL Rahul will keep wickets during the Test series as well.

He admitted that donning the gloves in red-ball cricket will be different from keeping limited overs matches, but added that it’s an exciting challenge and an opportunity for Rahul.

“With Ishan [Kishan] not being available, the opportunity came up. We have a couple of keepers we can choose from. Rahul is certainly one. We have had this discussion with him, we've discussed this with him. You know, he is very confident, he is very keen on giving it a go. We do understand that it's probably something he has not done as often. He has been doing it regularly in 50-overs cricket. So that's certainly tough, you know, to play 50 overs and then bat as well in a full day. That can take a lot out of your body,” Dravid said.

Rahul kept wickets in the recently concluded ODI series against the Proteas while also leading the team.

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Who will replace Shami? Will India play two spinners?

India will miss Mohammed Shami’s services in the Test matches versus South Africa. (Pic: Getty Images)

With Shami being ruled out of the Test series, India will depend heavily on Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj in the pace bowling department. The choice for the third seamer will be between Mukesh Kumar and Prasidh Krishna.

Mukesh was part of the white-ball series against the Proteas and came up with a couple of impressive spells. On the other hand, Prasidh claimed a five-wicket haul for India A in the first unofficial Test against South Africa A in Potchefstroom.

The other big conundrum for India will be whether to go in with four pacers and one spinner or three pacers and two spinners. The visitors have preferred playing the extra pacer in SENA countries in recent years. In that case, bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur comes into the picture.

On the other hand, if India decide to go in with two spinners, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja automatically pick themselves. However, if only one of the two plays, it would be interesting to see who gets the nod. Lately, India have preferred Jadeja over Ashwin as the lead spinner in overseas conditions.

Asked about the team combination, coach Dravid did not give away much.

"We have to see what the conditions are on match day, how the pitch will be. Still a day left. It's best to have a look and decide how things are with respect to the pitch as well as overhead conditions. We have a balanced team and all options are open to us depending on the conditions. We can't control the weather, we know the forecast but people here tell us that the forecast can change dramatically as well,” he said.

While Sunil Gavaskar picked both Ashwin and Jadeja in his preferred playing XI for the first Test, Gautam Gambhir preferred the four pacers and one spinner combination.

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India’s Test record in Centurion

India have played three Test matches against South Africa in Centurion, winning one and losing two.

They were hammered by an innings and 25 runs in the Boxing Day Test in 2010 as Jacques Kallis compiled a double hundred. The Proteas beat India by 135 runs in January 2018 as Lungi Ngidi starred with 6/39 on Test debut.

Team India registered their first Test win in Centurion during their previous tour in 2021-22. Rahul (123) and Shami (eight wickets) were the chief architects of the visitors’ triumph.