Virat Kohli and Dean Elgar pose with the trophy ahead of the start of the first Test between India and South Africa. Kohli won the toss and elected to bat first.
India 8/0 after 5 overs: KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal open the innings for India and the Karnataka batsmen have a huge task in their hands. It was a bold call from Virat Kohli to bat first in testing conditions and with no sunshine, it’s advantage Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi. The ball is doing a bit with Rabada and Ngidi steaming in with a lot of intensity. Mayank and Rahul have been watchful and the opening pair are steady, judging the line and leaving balls outside the off stump. South Africa took a bizarre review as Rabada appealed for a caught behind and the ball clearly brushed Rahul’s left shoulder as he ducked against the rising short delivery. Rahul did extremely well to drop his hands against the lifter and South Africa lose a review, very early in the Test match.
> Virat Kohli’s India has won the toss and elected to bat first against SA in Centurion.
Virat Kohli’s India is all pumped up for the Boxing Day Test (1st Test) against South Africa in Centurion.
IND vs SA, 1st Test: Team combination on Kohli’s mind as India take on South Africa
Skipper Virat Kohli will be battling on multiple fronts with an aim to get the tricky team combination right as India have a real shot at winning their first ever away series against South Africa, which is short on experience going into the contest, starting with the Boxing Day Test.
The choice between an untested rookie like Shreyas Iyer and a proven but out-of-form Ajinkya Rahane for the number five slot, is not an enviable one. It’s more like choosing between rock and hard place with fear of unknown being a persistent factor.
Not to mention the hard call on whether Shardul Thakur with far superior skills should be the fifth bowler in place of an ‘over the hill’ Ishant Sharma.
These are not easiest of decisions to make that require copious amounts of tactical acumen mixed in equal proportion with proper communication skills.
In Mumbai, during the New Zealand Test, the team management could “rest” both Rahane and Ishant on the pretext of niggles but if on Sunday, the duo doesn’t figure in the playing eleven, it will be as good as being dropped.
In the last Test, they were “unofficially dropped” and in this one, they will be officially dumped.
Possible XI
India: KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (capt), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, R Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma
South Africa Dean Elgar (capt), Aiden Markram, Keegan Petersen, Rassie van der Dussen, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock, Wiaan Mulder, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Duanne Olivier, Lungi Ngidi
.