India's quest to claim their final Test frontier is about to get underway as the Rohit Sharma-led side has been invited to bat first in the first Test at the SuperSport Park in Centurion. India have handed a Test debut to right-arm pacer Prasidh Krishna who impressed with figures of 5/43 against South Africa A in a Four-Day game leading into the Test match in Centurion.
The tourists have gone in with Ravichandran Ashwin as their lone frontline spinner and Ravindra Jadeja misses out due to upper back spasms. India have gone in with a seam-heavy bowling attack expecting the conditions in Centurion to assist the seamers more than the spinners.
South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma won the toss and elected to field first in order to utilise the overcast conditions and the moisture in the wicket. The Proteas have handed debuts to left-arm seamer Nandre Burger and batter David Bedingham.
Notably, South Africa is the only country where India haven't won a Test series and it is a reason big enough for Rohit Sharma and his men to give their best shot and push to rewrite history. India have won one and drawn a Test in the ongoing World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle.
They are currently occupying the first position on the WTC 2023-25 standings with a total of 66.67% Points Percentage System (PCT) and a series triumph will help them consolidate their position at the top of the tree.
India's playing XI:
Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
South Africa's playing XI:
Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Tony de Zorzi, Temba Bavuma (c), Keegan Petersen, David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, Kagiso Rabada, Nandre Burger
