Centurion weather today for 1st India vs South Africa Test

Persistent rain and the ensuing water puddles at SuperSport Park in Centurion spoiled the entire Day 2 of the first India-South Africa Test. Heavy showers and thunderstorms washed out the first two sessions and seeing little available time to get the ground ready, the umpires abandoned the third.

But fans eagerly waiting to see the action resume can expect some relief on Tuesday. According to accuweather.com, rain will stay away from Centurion all day. The website described Day 3's conditions as "mostly sunny, pleasant and warmer", with just a two percent chance of precipitation and a zero percent of thunderstorms.

The average temperature will be around 27 degrees Celsius. There is a chance of cloud cover, which might even support some swing, but nothing to worry about.

However, Centurion's weather forecast for the following two days isn't as good. Tracking websites expect a 55 percent chance of rain and a 33 percent chance of thunderstorms on Day 4, with rain likely to fall for around an hour in the afternoon. This increases to a 65 percent probability of rain on Day 4 with two hours of precipitation in the afternoon.

While the drainage system in Centurion is known to be quite efficient, if the forecast comes true, it will take away valuable time from the Test. In such a situation, the match will need to proceed briskly to get close to a result.

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KL Rahul, Ajinkya Rahane to try and extend India's advantage in Centurion

India did brilliantly wrest some early advantage on the opening day, with KL Rahul's unbeaten 248-ball 122 leading them to a score of 272-3. Under-pressure former vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane also showed glimpses of returning to form with a blistering 81-ball 40 in the final session, with his knock including eight boundaries.

The duo now have the onus to carry on and take India above 400-450. The pitch would have absorbed moisture overnight and is likely to assist pacers in the first hour today. If Rahul and Rahane can get through that and reach a good total, they will give India the best chance to bowl the hosts out twice in two days.

There are 98 overs slated for Wednesday, with play to resume at 1:30 PM IST. You can catch our live reporting here.