Indian cricket team will return to red-ball cricket after five months as they take on hosts South Africa in the first Test match in Centurion starting on December 26. Captain Rohit Sharma and other senior figures will also be in action for the first time since their heartbreaking defeat in the ICC World Cup 2023 final on November 19.
After a 1-1 draw in T20Is, the Men in Blue recorded a 2-1 series win against the Proteas under KL Rahul's leadership on December 21. KL Rahul became the only second Indian captain in history to record an ODI series win in South Africa.
Now Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid are seeking a maiden Test series win on South African soil in a two-match series. South Africa have always dominated every opponent in Tests at home but the Indian team has the best chance to create history after dominant performances across formats in the year 2023.
India vs South Africa Head-to-Head Test record:
In Tests, South Africa slightly leads the overall head-to-head record against India with 17 wins and 15 defeats in 42 matches. South Africa also recorded a 2-1 series win when both teams last clashed against each other two years ago.
| Matches Played | India Won | South Africa Won | Draw | Tie/NR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 42 | 15 | 17 | 10 | 0 |
IND vs SA Head-to-Head Test Record in South Africa:
| Matches Played | India Won | South Africa Won | Draw | Ties/NR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | 4 | 12 | 7 | 0 |
At home, South Africa have a stunning record against the Indian team with 12 wins in 23 Test matches and have suffered only 4 defeats so far. India's last Test win in South Africa came in during the Boxing Day clash in 2021 under Virat Kohli's captaincy.
India have won three of their last five Test encounters against South Africa but history remains with the latter.
India Test Squad for South Africa series: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Prasidh Krishna, Abhimanyu Easwaran
South Africa Test squad: Temba Bavuma (c), David Bedingham, Nandre Burger, Gerald Coetzee, Tony de Zorzi, Dean Elgar, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Keegan Petersen, Kagiso Rabada, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne (wk)
