Who will win India vs South Africa, 1st Test?
After thrashing West Indies in their most recent series, ICC World Test Championship leaders India take on South Africa in the first test of their three-match series. The match takes place at Vishakhapatnam from October 2-6, and the live action starts at 10:00 local time each day.
India were in dominant form in the Caribbean to claim the maximum 120 points on offer to move straight to the top of the Championship table. Ajinkya Rahane’s batting was key to their success, though they will miss injured bowler Jasprit Bumrah this time out after his excellent form in the two games in the Caribbean.
South Africa have not played a test match since the Championship cycle started. Their most recent matches were against Sri Lanka earlier in the year when they suffered a shock defeat. They will be keen to bounce back from that and send a statement out but they are outsiders against India.
IND vs SA, 1st Test: Where to watch/Live streaming
TV channels: Star Sports, SuperSport, Fox Sports, Sky Sports Cricket, ATN Cricket Plus, Willow TV, Astro Cricket HD, OSN Sports Cricket, Star Cricket
Live streaming: Hotstar, SuperSport Live, Willow TV Online
IND vs SA Toss Prediction
India won the toss in both the T20 internationals so this one could be set up for South Africa. If they do, batting second could be the order of the day.
IND vs SA Weather Report
There could be a few interruptions for rain in Visakhapatnam throughout the week, but the chance of rain is generally around the 30 per cent mark. Isolated thunderstorms are forecast in the region, but fortune may favour the cricket weather-wise.
IND vs SA Pitch Condition
One of the lesser-used Indian grounds, the stadium’s last notable matches were in the IPL. There is little to suggest the pitch will be out of the ordinary – meaning a dry wicket, which could spin later on.
Read on for team previews, betting tips, latest odds and match prediction for India vs South Africa, 1st Test...
India Team News & Playing 11
IND Team News
Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the IND vs SA 2019 test series due to a stress fracture, with Umesh Yadav replacing him in the squad. India could opt for two spinners instead, however, with Ravichandran Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav competing to join Ravindra Jadeja in the line-up. Rohit Sharma is set to open the batting in place of KL Rahul, having long been established as India’s one-day opener.
IND Key Players
Virat Kohli: The India captain has 25 test-match centuries to his name, while his two half-centuries in the West Indies means he has passed 50 a further 22 times in his test career now. He has hit a total of 6,749 runs in 135 innings.
Ajinkya Rahane: In top form in the Caribbean last month, when he hit 81, 102, 24 and 64* in his four innings. The first innings of this game will be his 100th in test-match cricket and he averages 42.23 having hit ten centuries and another 19 half-centuries in his previous 99.
Mohammed Shami: Took nine wickets in the four innings in the Caribbean and has enjoyed success against South Africa before too. In total, the paceman – who will take on added importance in Bumrah’s absence – has 153 wickets in 81 innings.
IND Team Form
India’s return to test-match action after the World Cup dominated the summer agenda saw them thrash West Indies in both tests in the Caribbean. Ajinya Rahane scored a century and Jasprit Bumrah claimed a record 5-7 from eight overs – both in the second innings – as they won the first test by 318 runs. And the margin of victory was almost as high in the second – Hanuma Vihari scoring a first-innings century before Bumrah claimed 6-27 to five India a 299-run lead at the halfway point. After declaring their third innings early, they eventually won by 257 runs.
India Predicted Playing 11
Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami
South Africa Team News & Playing 11
SA Team News
Heinrich Klaasen has replaced Rudi Second in the South Africa test squad, but Quinton de Kock is likely to continue behind the stumps having captained the team in the T20 internationals. Faf du Plessis was rested for those games but returns to captain the test team. Anrich Nortje could make his test debut, as could Senuran Muthusamy who is competing with recalled Dane Piedt for a place in the spin-bowling attack behind Keshav Maharaj. Zubayr Hamza also returns after good domestic form.
SA Key Players
Faf du Plessis: The South Africa captain goes into what could be his 99th and 100th test innings, looking to add to his nine centuries and 19 half-centuries in the longest format. He averages 42.95 in test-match cricket.
Quinton de Kock: Scored three half-centuries in four innings against Sri Lanka in South Africa’s most recent test series. He arrives in good form, after scoring 52 and 79* in the T20i series too.
Kagiso Rabada: Ranked second in the world test-match bowling rankings, the 24-year-old paceman – who took 3-39 in the final T20i – has racked up 176 wickets in just 37 tests. That includes nine five-wicket hauls, while he has taken ten in a match on four occasions too.
SA Team Form
South Africa come into this series having not played a test match since their surprise 2-0 defeat to Sri Lanka in February. That included Kusal Perera’s heroics as he snatched victory from the jaws of defeat when Sri Lanka won the first test by one wicket. Quinton de Kock hit three half-centuries in four innings in the series, but none of the Proteas’ batsman scored a century. South Africa’s only other test matches in 2019 were the back-end of their 3-0 series win against Pakistan.
South Africa Predicted Playing 11
Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Zubayr Hamza, Temba Bavuma, Faf du Plessis, Quinton de Kock, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Dane Piedt, Vernon Philander
India vs South Africa Head to Head
South Africa have the edge in test matches against India, winning 15 of their 36 previous encounters in the longest format. India have won 11 by contrast, with ten draws. The most recent series was in South Africa in January 2018, when South Africa won the first two tests to claim a 2-1 series win. Vernon Philander and Lungi Ngidi both claimed fourth-innings six-wicket hauls to earn victories in the first two matches for South Africa, before Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah bowled India to a consolation win in the final test.
IND vs SA Head to Head Stats
| Matches Played |
IND Won |
SA Won |
Tie |
No Result |
| 36 |
11 |
15 |
0 |
10 |
India vs South Africa Betting Odds
India are big favourites to continue their good test form and beat South Africa.
IND Bet365 Odds
- IND to Win the Match: India are 1.50 favourites to win with Bet365, while even the draw is a big outside bet at 4.50.
- IND Top Batsman: India have plenty of batting quality, with Virat Kohli their 2.87 favourite to be their top batsman with Bet365. Ajinkya Rahane was in good form in the Caribbean, however, and he is 7.00 with Bet365, while Hanuma Vihari is 9.00 despite his good batting in the second test. Cheteshwar Pujara is 4.00, while Rohit Sharma is 5.50 as he prepares to open the batting.
- IND Top Bowler: With Jasprit Bumrah absent, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma are both 5.50 to be India’s top first innings bowler. The spinners are expected to shine instead, with Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja both listed at 3.25 and Kuldeep Yadav at 3.75.
SA Bet365 Odds
- SA to Win the Match: South Africa are 6.00 outsiders to beat India in the first test with Bet365.
- SA Top Batsman: Faf du Plessis is 4.00 favourite to be South Africa’s top batsman in the first innings with Bet365, while in-form Quinton de Kock could be well worth backing at 6.50. Dean Elgar is 5.00 and Aiden Markram is 4.33. Zabyr Hamza is 6.50.
- SA Top Bowler: Keshav Maharaj is favourite to be South Africa’s top bowler on a spinning wicket, at 3.50 with Bet365. Dane Piedt is 4.00 ahead of a potential debut, but Kagiso Rabada – the second-best test bowler in the world – is the same price. Vernon Philander has also had success against South Africa in the recent past and he is 4.50, while Lungi Ngidi is 5.50.
🏆 India vs South Africa Prediction
India made a brilliant start to the ICC World Test Championship and will now be tested against much stronger opposition. On home soil, however, they remain favourites and with good reason too.
Oct 02 - Oct 06, 2019
09:30 IST / 4:00 GMT
ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium - Visakhapatnam, India
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