IND vs SA LIVE Score – Day 1 Lunch – Opting to bat, India dominated in the 1st session with KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal putting up a fantastic 83-run unbeaten stand. In a welcome change, Virat Kohli won the toss and opted to bat first in the first Test at the SuperSport Park in Centurion against South Africa. Agarwal is batting on 46 and KL on 29. Follow India vs South Africa 1st Test LIVE Updates on InsideSport.IN
Earlier, India dropped Ishant Sharma to the bench after going wicketless in the last two Tests. Ajinkya Rahane retained his place at the expense of Hanuma Vihari and Shreyas Iyer. For South Africa, Marco Jansen made his Test debut for SA.
India opted to go with the five-bowlers template with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj taking up the frontline seamers slots while Shardul Thakur occupied the all-rounder’s position. R Ashwin is the sole spinner.
India started the day well with a cautious approach and hardly going for any wider deliveries. While Mayank Agarwal edged one to the first slip, Quinton de Kock dropped it.
IND vs SA LIVE Score: Lunch: Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul’s solid 83-run stand put India on top; IND 83/0 – Follow Day 1 LIVE updates
India 1st Innings: 83/0
| KL Rahul | 29 | 84 | 4 | 0 | 34.52 | |
| Mayank Agarwal | 46 | 84 | 7 | 0 | 54.76 | |
| Extra | 8 (b 4, w 0, nb 0, lb 4) | |||||
| Total | 83/0 (28) | |||||
| Yet To Bat | CA Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, M Shami, JJ Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj | |||||
IND vs SA LIVE Score: Day 1, 1st session, 2nd hour
- Lunch: India take the first session pretty easily. The only chance was created by Marco Jansen but De Kock failed to grab it.
- Kehsav Maharaj comes into attack after fast bowlers fail against Indian openers.
- Mayank closes in on consecutive half-centuries.
- 50-run stand between Mayank and KL. India are off to a good start.
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A fine 50-run partnership comes up between #TeamIndia openers – @mayankcricket & @klrahul11 💪💪#SAvIND pic.twitter.com/4KjYE2nhqL
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 26, 2021
- DROPPED! Big chance but Quinton de Kock fails to grab it. Mayank survives and Marco Jansen is disappointed.
- Both Mayank and KL have been disciplined so far. They haven’t gone for the drive and it has helped.
- Wiaan Mulder resumes after drinks break.
IND vs SA LIVE Score: Day 1, 1st session, 1st hour
- India off to a good start and this is KL-Mayank’s highest partnership in Tests.
- Another change in bowling. Wiaan Mulder comes into the attack.
- FOUR! Expensive over from Jansen.
- FOUR! Another four for Mayank. This time he punched it on the leg-side and Jansen goes for a second 4.
- FOUR! Marco Jansen makes his Test debut. But with a full toss that goes for a 4.
- FOUR! KL Rahul this time and KL gets his first boundary.
- Stead start from Mayank and KL. They have negated early advantage for SA bowlers
- FOUR! Widish delivery and Mayank pushes it for a 4. First one for India and Mayank.
- Mayank opens his account. KL and Mayank have been playing together since U-13 level for Karnataka and now are opening again for India. The last time, the two opened in Test cricket against Australia, it didn’t go well.
- Kagiso Rabada opens bowling for SA, Mayank & KL Rahul open batting for India.
IND vs SA LIVE Score: Lunch: Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul’s solid 83-run stand put India on top; IND 83/0 – Follow Day 1 LIVE updates
13:05 PM: Ishant Sharma is expectedly dropped. Ajinkya Rahane gets an opportunity that could be his last. Shardul Thakur gets a chance. That means Shreyas Iyer is benched.
Captain @imVkohli wins the toss and #TeamIndia will bat first.
A look at our Playing XI for the 1st Test.#SAvIND pic.twitter.com/DDACnaXiK8
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 26, 2021
India Playing XI: KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
South Africa Playing XI: Dean Elgar(c), Aiden Markram, Keegan Petersen, Rassie van der Dussen, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock(w), Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi
🚨 TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT
🇿🇦💚 It’s a day to cherish for Marco Jansen as he makes his Test debut
📺 Catch it live on SuperSport Grandstand and SABC 3
📝 Ball by Ball https://t.co/c1ztvrT95P#SAvIND #FreedomTestSeries #BetwayTestSeries #BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/kcZENS6A1u— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) December 26, 2021
IND vs SA LIVE Score: Lunch: Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul’s solid 83-run stand put India on top; IND 83/0 – Follow Day 1 LIVE updates
13:00 PM IST: Ishant Sharma dropped, India bat first in Centurion.
12:40 PM IST: No warm-up for Ishant Sharma, does it mean, Shardul gets the nod?
Huddle talk ☑️#TeamIndia #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/SDCjqcDd7s
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 26, 2021
IND vs SA LIVE Score: Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul bring up 50-run stand, India off to solid start; IND 65/0 – Follow Day 1 LIVE updates
12:35 PM IST: Dark clouds hovering over Centurion but the match is set for a timely start.
12:20 PM IST:
“I thought if I can’t get the best out of Rohit then I’m a failure as a coach” – @RaviShastriOfc
Catch the former #TeamIndia coach reveal it all on #BoldAndBrave: The Shastri Way#Byjus #CricketLIVE | Day 1, Lunch | 1st #SAvIND Test | Star Sports & Disney+Hotstar pic.twitter.com/OXsM8AvqEO
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) December 26, 2021
IND vs SA LIVE Score: Lunch: Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul’s solid 83-run stand put India on top; IND 83/0 – Follow Day 1 LIVE updates
🇿🇦The #Proteas get their #FreedomTestSeries campaign underway today against @BCCI at SuperSport Park💪
📺 Catch it live on SuperSport Grandstand and SABC 3
📝 Ball by Ball https://t.co/c1ztvrT95P#SAvIND #BetwayTestSeries #BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/P5MRdyGFwa— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) December 26, 2021
Preparations done ✅
It’s time ⏳
Let the game begin 💪🏻#TeamIndia #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/GZ4G0X8YXU
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 26, 2021
IND vs SA LIVE Score: Lunch: Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul’s solid 83-run stand put India on top; IND 83/0 – Follow Day 1 LIVE updates
Will Rain Delay the start of the match? India’s ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin shared a gloomy update for Indian cricket fans all over the globe. Taking to Instagram, Ashwin shared an image of the weather outside his window, with heavy showers dampening the mood. Overnight rain is likely to affect the track on offer at Centurion, with the IND vs SA 1st Test set to begin on Sunday. Check out Ravi Ashwin’s story here:
As per the weather forecast, heavy rain with thick cloud cover is expected on December 26, 27 & 28 – the first three days of the Boxing Day Test with bouts of rain for the remaining three days.
IND vs SA LIVE Score: Lunch: Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul’s solid 83-run stand put India on top; IND 83/0 – Follow Day 1 LIVE updates
Accuweather hour by hour forecast in Centurion today
As per worldweatheronline.com, thick cloud cover with thunderstorms is predicted for the first 3 days with the chances of rain more than 60%.
IND vs SA LIVE Score: Lunch: Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul’s solid 83-run stand put India on top; IND 83/0 – Follow Day 1 LIVE updates
Grass on the wicket at Centurion:
Apart from rain and overcast conditions, the ‘pitch’ at Supersport Park Centurion will be another challenge for Virat Kohli and Co. BCCI on Monday (December 20) shared a short clip from Team India’s intense nets training session at Supersport Park.
“There’s grass on the wicket,” said Shreyas Iyer in the video. It will be challenging for the batsmen to bat on and it looks like the wicket will be a bowlers delight.
#TeamIndia had an intense nets session 💪🏻 at SuperSport Park 🏟️ in the build up to the first #SAvIND Test.
Here’s @28anand taking you closer to all the action from Centurion. 👍 👍
Watch this special feature 🎥 🔽https://t.co/Dm6hVDz71w pic.twitter.com/qjxnBszmDa
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 20, 2021
India eying to end the 29-year-old jinx in South Africa:
Meanwhile, Virat Kohli and Co will be eying to end the 29-year old jinx in South Africa. Team India has never won a Test series on South African soil and has failed in all previous seven attempts.
Apart from that, team India is yet to beat Proteas at Centurion. They have played twice at Supersport Park in 2010 and 2018 and have faced defeats on both occasions. In 2010, South Africa registered an innings and 25 runs win over MS Dhoni-led side while in 2018, they registered another huge win by a 135-run margin over Virat Kohli and Co.
IND vs SA LIVE Score: Lunch: Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul’s solid 83-run stand put India on top; IND 83/0 – Follow Day 1 LIVE updates
For more IND vs SA updates, follow InsideSport.in
