South Africa vs India, RSA vs IND, Today Match Prediction 26 December 2021

sa vs ind Match Prediction & Analysis

India have won a Test series in every cricket playing nation barring South Africa so far. Now, they are all set to breach the record with their resurgent attack which has conquered Australia twice and England in the recent past. Indian team has a great chance to put the South African side which is on transition under pressure and achieve victory this time around. South Africa will be very wary of the capabilities of this Indian unit and will be looking to give their best in their home conditions to keep their fortress against India. And both teams will be looking to move up in the ICC Test Championship with the crucial points on offer in this series.

TEAMS PREVIEW

South Africa Preview

South Africa will open with the likes of Dean Elgar and Aiden Markram followed by the likes of Rassie Van Der Dussen, Temba Bavuma, and Quinton De Kock in the playing XI. Keegan Peterson might pip uncapped Sarel Erwee for the vacant batting slot in the middle order.

Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi will join forces with the returning Duanne Olivier to form a threatening pace attack for the team. Lutho Simpala, Beuran Hendricks, and Glenton Stuurnman will be in the reserves and will looking for the opportunity eagerly. All-rounder Wiaan Mulder and Spinner Keshav Maharaj will complete the bowling attack for the team.

Key players to bet on:

Dean Elgar – Elgar is one of the gritty players who can score runs on tough conditions. He has scores of 127, 31*, & 95 in the last 3 innings he played. We expect him to play a tough knock at the top to lead his team.

Duanne Olivier – Oliver returns to the squad after a long gap of nearly 2 years and he has picked up around 40+ scalps in the current first class season.  We expect him to trouble the Indian batters in the testing conditions on this pitch.

South Africa Predicted Playing XI:

Dean Elgar (c), Aiden Markram, Rassie Van Der Dussen, Temba Bavuma, Quinton De Kock (wk), Keegan Peterson, Wiaan Mulder, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Keshav Maharaj, Duanne Oliver

South Africa Actual Playing XI:

Rassie van der Dussen, Keegan Petersen, Marco Jansen, Quinton de Kock, Lungi Ngidi, Aiden Markram, Dean Elgar, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma

India Preview

India will have some changes and questions in their batting line-up to kick-off the series. Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul will open the batting with Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli expected to slot in as No.3 & No.4 respectively. Shreyas Iyer will be front runner for No.5 position with Hanuma Vihari and Ajinkya Rahane being close contenders. Rishabh pant will take over the wicket keeping duties.

Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami will be their first choice pacers with a toss-up between Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Siraj for the third pacer`s slot. Shardul Thakur will slot in as pace bowling all-rounder with Ravi Ashwin being the lead spinner for the team. Umesh Yadav and Jayant Yadav are the reserve bowlers in the squad.

Key players to bet on: 

Virat Kohli – Kohli has been off-color for a long time in test and will be eager to get back to rhythm with a big score in the first match which will set the tempo of the series. We expect a big century from the Indian test skipper in this match.

Jasprit Bumrah – Bumrah will be the lead pacer for India in this bowling attack and we expect him pick a lot of the opposition wickets in this match and series effectively.

India Predicted Playing XI:

Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Risabh Pant (wk), Ravi Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shmai, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

India Actual Playing XI:

Mohammed Siraj, Lokesh Rahul, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant, Virat Kohli, SN Thakur, Mohammed Shami

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

Centurion will have a slightly cloudy and overcast conditions on the first 2 days of the match with the weather being the best on days 4 & 5. Rain might make an appearance in this match to cause some stoppage.

Venue Details

Super sport Park is one challenging tracks with pace and carry and it will aid the batters for the first 2-3 days of the match. Pacers will have a big role to play in this match. We expect scores in the range of 300-400 runs in the first innings and anything over 200 runs will be tough to chase in the fourth innings.

Toss: To Bat

Batting first is the best option in test matches as the pitch might deteriorate and batting becomes difficult on the last day. But, overcast conditions on Day 1 might tempt the captains to bowl first here.