There is a certain charm to a Boxing Day Test. It is almost like a ritual. Red-ball intensity setting up the post-Christmas holiday season and transitioning into the new year. And for Indian cricket, it is even more special this time round with Rohit Sharma’s team gearing up for the final frontier.
The last time India played a Boxing Day Test in South Africa, it was a KL Rahul masterclass that set up the match. And in the middle order, it was Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane who were the two constants alongside Virat Kohli. While Kohli is still there as the batting mainstay, Pujara and Rajane have given way to Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer. Rahul will now hold together the middle order, while it is Rohit’s task to face the red cherry at the top with Yashasvi Jaiswal. Clearly, it is a team in transition. And yet, there is enough talent in the line-up to suggest India go in even with the Proteas on home soil.
More important than anything in South Africa is scoring runs. India has the bowling to pick up 20 wickets, and with Jasprit Bumrah back, there is reason to believe a repeat of the World Test Championship (WTC) final won’t happen. That’s why it will come down to the batting. Against a quality attack and in difficult conditions with rain around, can Rohit and company bat big? It will be a stern test and that’s what we love to watch. Maiden after maiden at times, edges flying around, fielders chirping, ball moving and shaping away, the Boxing Day action is always special.
Sometimes, no action is the real action. With white-ball cricket, we have become used to fours and sixes being hit. Maiden overs are a rarity and unless there are boundaries galore, we tend to think it is boring. The truth is that’s where the real Test lies. With four slips waiting for the edge, batters who are always in focus in white-ball cricket are posed a real challenge by the bowlers. Bouncers flying around, some hitting the gloves and the body, it is action of a very different kind. Glares and sledges add to it all and that’s what makes the Boxing Day Test what it is.
It is true that you can’t forget a World Cup final defeat in a hurry. It is the World Cup, after all. And after winning 10 on the trot, more so. But then, if anything adds to the legacy of a batter, it is scoring a 100 in a SENA country (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) in a Boxing Day Test. Standing up against the likes of Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen, it is about making a statement. Class and pedigree get known when a batter is able to master these conditions. In doing so, a legacy is scripted and immortality achieved.
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Yes, there is bad weather around. It will only add to the drama. Bat or bowl first? R Ashwin or Shardul Thakur? A mistake could mean a repeat of the WTC final. Rahul Dravid will know it is yet another of those tests that he needs to pass. In a two-Test series, a defeat in the first game means you don’t win the series, so there is no scope of a slip-up. Against a hostile bowling attack, it adds to the occasion.
While, as a collective, nothing can top a World Cup win, as an individual, most batters would choose a Boxing Day Test hundred over any white-ball innings. In the most individual of all team sports, this is the reality we need to accept. For the bowlers, no Mohammed Shami means they too will be tested. Prasidh Krishna or Shardul will have to measure up and Mohammed Siraj will have to find his A game on to help Bumrah. Against a relatively fragile South African batting, the bowlers are expected to deliver. Let’s not forget it was the inability of the bowlers to defend 240 that cost India the series in 2022. Now, they have another opportunity. Perhaps the final one for a few of them.
In every sense then, the stage is set. There might not be the same crowd as in Ahmedabad or Kolkata but in terms of what’s on offer, it is no less spicy and fascinating. Kohli v Rabada or Rohit v Jansen on Boxing Day, or Bumrah steaming in against Dean Elgar on a pitch with some assistance is why we watch this sport. It will test us all. And in doing so, create memories that will last us forever.