The aura of the Boxing Day Test. The moment you mention it in the South African context, fast and bouncy wickets come to mind. Fast bowlers running in and hitting the deck, getting the ball to jump from awkward lengths, batsmen finding it difficult to adjust to the bounce and some even getting hit, much to the excitement of a hostile, jingoistic crowd. Over the years, South African fast bowlers, now led by Kagiso Rabada, have ruled in home conditions against most visiting teams.
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill and company will know that reality well. They will know that India have never won a Test series in South Africa. Between Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen, South Africa have a very good fast-bowling attack and the likes of Rohit, Gill and Kohli will have to adjust to the bounce and movement on offer. What will help India is that they would have spent a decent amount of time in South Africa during the preparatory phase and also played some practice games before the start of the Boxing Day Test. Also, the fact that Kohli and Rohit will only be focussed on red-ball cricket should surely work in their favour. They will know the conditions well and by the time of the first Test, they will have adjusted themselves to the environment.
Coming to the series itself, it could well turn out to be a contest between South Africa’s bowlers and India’s batsmen. As Sourav Ganguly, former Indian captain, said, “You need to play to the conditions. India has a good batting line-up and, against a quality attack, we should have a great contest. Rohit and Virat are playing well and there is a lot of talent in the Indian team. Despite home advantage, South Africa won’t find it easy either.”
Few are talking about South Africa’s batting. Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen and the others may not be big stars, but in conditions they know, they have done extremely well in the past. Someone like Dean Elgar, for example, was really hard for India to dislodge last time round, and there are many such players who have forever played well against India and will fancy an opportunity against a line-up that might not have a fully fit Mohammed Shami. “We have played India so many times in recent times, it is as if we know each person inside out,” said Makhaya Ntini, former South African pace ace. “They are a good unit, no doubt, but that doesn’t mean we will be overawed. At home, we will start with all the confidence we need to.”
In every sense, the series is set up nicely. India will want to win something major after the disappointment of the World Cup. South Africa too came close before losing out to Australia, and will know that beating India is always considered a gold star in contemporary cricket.
In all this build-up, there are two concern areas for India. After his brilliance in the World Cup, there are now question marks over Shami. India will need him alongside Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah, and one can only hope that the ankle injury heals in time. Secondly, all of India will also be hoping that Bumrah will deliver with the ball in a country where he made his Test debut almost six years ago. He hasn’t played red-ball cricket in a long time, and while he has looked totally at ease in the white-ball arena, bowling 20 overs a day in Test cricket is a fundamentally different proposition.
South Africa, compared to Australia or England, is a relatively quiet tour. The media build-up at times isn’t quite the same. But all this changes when the players step onto the ground. Rabada will ask every question that Josh Hazlewood does, while Jansen will do all that Mitchell Starc or Sam Curran can. After the disappointment of the World Cup, what we need now is a fantastic contest between Rabada and Kohli, and Jansen and Rohit. On Boxing Day, such intense tussles will be a welcome relief for millions of Indian fans, who will hope that the tone is set for a better 2024.