International - ICC Test Matches
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by Devesh Jaganath | in Cricket Predictions
The first Test between India and South Africa will get underway at the iconic Eden Gardens on Thursday morning. The Men in Blue are ranked fourth in the ICC Test rankings, while the Proteas are third. Let’s get into the match prediction.
India come into this series off the back of a gruelling tour of Australia, where they lost the ODI series 2-1 but bounced back to clinch the T20I leg over the Baggy Greens by the same scoreline.
The Men in Blue last featured in the longest format at the start of October, when they demolished the West Indies 2-0, with Ravindra Jadeja picking up the Player of the Series award.
The home side has made a few notable selection decisions for this series, with Rishabh Pant and Akash Deep set to return, while Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Shami have both been left out.
Meanwhile, this is a continuation of South Africa’s tour of the sub-continent, as they just completed a multi-format series against Pakistan, which produced a mixed bag of results.
The reigning World Test Championship champions drew their Test series against the Shaheens 1-1, before losing both limited-over series 2-1. They have not beaten the Men in Blue in India since 2000.
Proteas’ skipper Temba Bavuma will return from injury to lead the side for this series, while there is a lot of expectation around Senuran Muthusamy, who has picked up 22 wickets in seven Tests.
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India - South Africa Key Points
- India have won 11 of the 19 Test matches between these sides.
- India won the last Test series at home against this opponent 3-0.
- South Africa last won a Test series in India in 2000.
- South Africa drew their last Test series 1-1 against Pakistan in October.
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Our India vs South Africa Prediction
South Africa finally shed the reputation of being chokers by beating Australia to the World Test Championship crown earlier this year, but they were far from convincing against Pakistan over the last month.
While India have not been as solid in the longest format as they are in limited-over contests in recent times, their record at home is still formidable. The Men in Blue clinched a 3-0 whitewash when they last faced the Proteas in a Test series at home, and we feel they will get off to a winning start in this one. Our India vs South Africa prediction is India wins.
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