India tour of South Africa 3rd Test Predictions
The much-awaited three-match Test between South Africa and India started on 26th December in Centurion at the SuperSport Park. The series is going to be a part of the ICC World Test Championship 2021-23’s second cycle. This test series has also excited the cricket betting community as South Africa is considered the home of online cricket betting. People are looking forward to online betting on South Africa vs. India Test Series. India leads the 3 match test series 1-0. According to cricket experts, Indians are the favorites to win the series.
A major blow suffered by the Proteas of the series was Anrich Nortje being ruled out because of a persistent hip injury. A lot depends on the form of Kagiso Rabada playing in the test series. It is going to be the first series of South Africa in the World Test Championship. So, it is expected that they are going to start the season in a high mood.
While India is going to ride with great confidence since they have managed to whitewash New Zealand at home in their two-match Test series. The onus is going to be on Virat Kohli, who is going to be the spotlight of the test series after he was released from the ODI captaincy.
Details of the South Africa vs. India Match
The third test will commence on 11th January 2022. It will take place in Cape Town’s Newlands.
India is looking for their maiden test win against South Africa when their team led by Virat Kohli will lock horns in the Boxing-day match.
India had previously visited South Africa in 2017-2018. But in that series, they lost the series 2-1. But since then, the Indian team has recorded subsequent test series wins in Australia and were leading in England 2-1, which was an incomplete series. It is going to be the 8th test series in South Africa. But as it stands, no team in the last 29 years was able to grab a win in a Test series in South Africa. However, this time, Virat Kohli and the squad is looking forward to creating history.
Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma are out of the game due to injuries. KL Rahul, the India vice-captain, is supposed to open along with Mayank Agarwal, who is highly in form against South Africa in the Boxing Day Test. The team management will definitely back Cheteshwar Pujara in the middle order to give him a chance to prove himself yet again in South Africa’s challenging conditions.
Middle Order Dilemma
Virat Kohli, the Indian captain, is going to bat at number 4. However, the selection problem will happen with the 5th batter. Ajinkya Rahane has been out of form, but Shreyas Iyer’s record-breaking debut has helped team India conclude the test series against New Zealand.
Hanuma Vihari is going to make the case much stronger depending on his recent form in India A’s tour to South Africa. Nevertheless, Kohli has hinted in his press conference that just Vihari, Iyer, or Rahane are going to get a place in the final playing XI. The vice-captain of the team has hinted that the player might choose 5 bowlers as the strategy has worked well for them abroad with an emphasis to take 20 wickets in a match.
Rishab Pant is going to replace Wriiddhimsn Saha, the senior wicket-keeper in the final XI, and is going to fit in at number 6. Ravichandran Ashwin is going to be the only spinner in the Boxing Day test with Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, and Mohammed Siraj to be the four pacers.
Pitch prediction shows that the pitch can deteriorate after four days of play.
Toss Prediction for India vs. South Africa
The team which wins the toss in the match is more likely to choose to bat first. The reason is the pitch is expected to be suitable for batting for the first few days and is going to be more bowler-friendly as the test match progresses on Day 4 and 5. If you want to know every update regarding this test match, check out BettingTop10 India telegram channel and get the latest updates.
Weather Prediction for South Africa vs. India
It has been predicted that there will be thundershowers for the third day and this might lead to some interruptions. The remaining days, however, are going to be bright and sunny. So, there will be enough time in the match for a result.