‘The last frontier’ may be explained by the fact that India has travelled to the rainbow nation eight times since 1992, the year South Africa was allowed back into the international cricket scene, but has never won a Test match there. India will play South Africa during a Test series consisting of just two matches for the third time ever.
The previous two Test series were in 2013 and 2001, each of which the visiting team lost by a score of 0-1. As a result, the team that wins in Centurion will have an insurmountable lead early in the match before the action moves to Newlands. And Rohit Sharma along with his team are “desperate” to seize that opportunity and move over the agony of losing in the World Cup final.
In red-ball cricket, Centurion’s SuperSport Park provides decent support for speed bowlers. According to the pitch curator, both sides may anticipate a surface that is conducive to speed right away. Additional bounce and seam will be on offer to the bowlers as confirmed by India’s head coach Rahul Dravid.
Pacers have typically dominated, it is anticipated that both sides would use extra speed options in their bowling attacks. Because of the predicted rain on the first two days, pacers may get extra assistance on Day 3.
Weather report for 1st Test between South Africa and India
But the much-awaited Freedom Trophy series will probably get off to a delayed start. Day 1 in Centurion, Gauteng is scheduled to be rained out owing to heavy rain. Rain in Centurion forced the cancellation of South Africa’s and India’s outdoor sessions on Monday. Accuweather’s prediction for Tuesday indicates that conditions won’t get much better, with 96% of rain and 38% of thunderstorms expected.
According to the website it is “mainly cloudy with occasional rain and thunderstorms”. This also indicates that thunderstorms are expected to occur in Centurion around 7 and 9 am local time. There will also be a period of intense afternoon rains throughout the city.
