IND vs SA: India is all set to lock horns with South Africa in the two-match Test series. The series will begin with a Boxing Day Test match on 26th December at the Super Sports Park in Centurion. Both teams are getting into the groove and are putting hard yards ahead of the series.
India is yet to win a series in South Africa and it’s a huge baggage for them. This time around it’ll be another opportunity for them to end this jinx and win their first-ever series in Proteas land. With the kind of squad, India has it won’t be a surprise if they win this time around.
Indian squad this time around has a combination of youth as well as experience. This might work in their favour as over the years they have struggled to score runs in South Africa. This time with young guns around who can score quickly, India can put pressure on opponents in the IND vs SA series.
In the earlier years, it used to be a three or four-match series, which would used to exhaust the Indian team. But this time it will be a two-match series, which also might favour India. The kind of pace attack team has time around, it will be a huge boost for the team.
The first hurdle for the Indian team will be to go past the IND vs SA Boxing Day Test. If they manage to take an early lead in the series, then it will reduce psychological pressure. India however, has a great record in the Boxing Day Tests since the last 3 games.
They have won three out of their last three Boxing Day games. In 2018 they defeated Australia and followed it up with another win in 2020. Both the teams India ended up winning the series and became the first team to win down under twice.
In 2021, they had a decent outing during the Boxing Day Test as well. They defeated South Africa. It was the first game of the series but they went on to lose the last two games and the series as well. However, this time around they would be hoping for a different result in IND vs SA.
India in the last 3 Boxing Day Tests:
– Won by 137 runs against Australia at MCG in 2018
– Won by 8 wickets Vs Australia in 2020.
– Won by 113 runs Vs South Africa in 2021.
IND vs SA: India Test squad for the Tests against South Africa
India has named a pretty decent squad for the IND vs SA tests. It’ll be a full-strength Indian team with Rohit Sharma being the captain. Mohammed Shami has been ruled out of the series and Ishan Kishan has opted out of the series.
Here is India’s squad for 2 Tests:
Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KS Bharat (wk), KL Rahul (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Prasidh Krishna.