India’s tour of South Africa will finally kick-start after a short delay to the start of the series due to the ongoing pandemic situation. The first of the three-match series is now all set to start on December 26th, 2021 in SuperSport Park, Centurion. 

This will be India’s first foreign assignment in whites since their series against England in England. For South Africa, this will be their first Test in the last six months. Boxing Day 2021 is sure to bring in an interesting Test match. That being said, below are a few pointers to look out for ahead of the big game. 

Previous encounter in South Africa between the teams

In India’s tour of South Africa in 2017-18, which was led by Virat Kohli too, India won only one out of the three Tests. This time around, which will be his second Test series as a captain in South Africa, Kohli will be keen on correcting that record.

If the team manages to win this series, it will be India’s first series win in South Africa, rewriting history books. 

Major changes in the batting order expected

With seasoned opener Rohit Sharma missing out due to injuries, Mayank Agarwal is touted to take over opening duties along with stand-in vice captain KL Rahul. 

While senior players Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have lots of experience to bank on, their form of late has been a matter of concern. However, Shreyas Iyer, who made a remarkable debut in Kanpur less than a month ago, and Hanuma Vihari, who made his knock count for India A against South Africa A, look good. It will be interesting to see if there will be any switches around this middle order in India’s playing XI.

India’s fiery pack of pacers

India will be heading to South Africa with a pack of Test bowlers who have made some incredible contributions to the team in recent times. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav are in the squad, making it a pace attack to be wary of for any team. With the South African pitches favouring the quicks more than anywhere else, we can expect some fireworks from our experienced set of pacers. 

Anrich Nortje out for the Proteas

Protea pacer Anrich Nortje, who was to lead the pace attack, found himself sitting out due to a hip injury. This puts the onus on Lungi Ngidi and Kagiso Rabada to shoulder the responsibility. Additionally, the team has Duanne Olivier and Beuran Hendricks who could contribute to the pace attack. 

Responsibility on Dean Elgar

Dean Elgar will be leading South Africa, and will have additional opening responsibility on him as the series nears an end, with opener Quinton de Kock surely going to miss the last match due to the birth of his child lined up.    

India will be seeking to etch history with this Test series, and the first match in Centurion will be the first target enroute to this.