IND vs SA 1st Test weather report: Will rain ruin the India-South Africa match in Centurion?
Team India take on South Africa in the first of the two-match Test series in Centurion starting Tuesday, December 26. India's practice on the eve of the Test match was cut short due to rain and the forecast doesn't look good for the first two days.
The Indian team is all geared up for its first of the four big Test series in span of 12 months. First up is South Africa in a two-match away Test series, a country which India has found hard to succeed in and there lies the motivation - chance to become the first squad that wins a Test series in the rainbow nation. But can India do it?
India's recent performances outside Asia in Test cricket haven't been great lately. The Indian team lost the series to the Proteas two years ago 1-2 before losing the rescheduled fifth Test against England after which they won in the Caribbean 1-0 but lost the World Test Championship final, twice in a row. The two-time WTC finalists have hit the transition button as far as the Test team is concerned and the glimpses of it were on display against the West Indies but South Africa will be a different animal altogether and Centurion is a venue that India likes.
However, this time around Centurion has been a bit gloomy with all the rain in the past few days and it seems a similar weather will seep into the Boxing Day Test as well. As per Accuweather, there is a probability of precipitation of 92 percent on Tuesday morning, which reduced slightly to 80 percent in the afternoon. However, there is a probability of thunderstorms as well it is likely that Day 1 might be entirely washed out or even if the play happens, it might be restricted to a couple of hours or even less.
Similarly on Day 2 as well, the rain percentage is as high as 90 and hence the showers might play a major role on Wednesday, December 27 as well. The forecast, however, improves on the third day, which is December 28 (Thursday). The temperatures will hover around a high of 22 degrees and a low of 13 degrees, which means it will be cool throughout the day but the rain might dampen the spirits on the Boxing Day. The players and fans will hope that they can get the maximum play in the first two days before hopefully the normal service resumes third day onwards.