The wait for the start of India’s tour of South Africa got delayed after rain washed out the first T20I of the multi-format series on Sunday. The Indians have come to South Africa on the back of a T20I series win against Australia at home, which was followed by a heartbreak in the World Cup 2023.
The eyes will be on T20Is first but the major focus point of the series will be the two-match Test series. India have never beaten South Africa in a Test series at the latter’s home and it can be said as the final frontier for the Men in Blue. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, well aware of the magnitude of the Test series, said that this series will provide an opportunity for Rohit Sharma to make up for the World Cup final loss under his leadership.
“Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have really been at the peak of their powers in the last 6-8 months. Rohit is going to be key for India in the Test series. Rohit will have a big role to play to set up the batters coming after him at three, four and five. Whatever happens, this is Rohit Sharma’s opportunity to make up for the World Cup final loss,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports.
India’s stern test in South Africa
India will be facing a stern test on the South African shores. They have played eight Test series at Proteas’ home but have only come close to playing a drawn series. They ran South Africa for money in both of the previous tours but could not find enough fuel to clinch the series. The Men in Blue lost the last series by 2-1 in 2021/22, while they went down in 2017/18 too by a similar margin.
Former Proteas all-rounder Jacques Kallis also stated that South Africa is a tough team to beat at home. This is a good Indian team but South Africa is tough to beat in South Africa. Centurion will probably suit South Africa and Newlands will probably suit India. It will be a good series and it will come down to one or two sessions that one team might play better than the other. It would be a closely fought contest,” Kallis said in an interview with PTI.