Big Jolt For South Africa Even Before T20I Series vs India Begins As Star Is Ruled Out

09.12.2023 - 08:01 sports.ndtv.com

The Indian cricket team renews its rivalry with South Africa beginning with a T20I on Sunday. India will play all three formats on the Tour.

South Africa, at home, have always been a great force and the Indian cricket team knows it well. This time India will have three captain - Rohit Sharma (Tests), KL Rahul (ODIs) and Suryakumar Yadav (T20Is).

The white-ball teams of India bear a fresh look with veterans like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah being rested. Ahead of the T20I series, South Africa got a big shock as star pacer Lungi Ngidi was ruled out of the series. "Proteas fast bowler Lungi Ngidi has been ruled out of the three-match KFC T20I series against India due to a left lateral ankle sprain.

The 27-year-old has been released from the squad and will return to his provincial team where he will undergo his rehabilitation with the Momentum Multiply Titans under the supervision of the Proteas medical team," Cricket South Africa said in a release. "Initially he was expected to play in the round of four-day matches from 14 - 17 December in preparation for the two-match Betway Test series but will instead be further assessed by the medical team on his progress.

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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the decision to add pacer Avesh Khan to India's squad for the second Test against South Africa as a replacement for Mohammed Shami who remains unavailable due to an injury. Shami was picked for the tour of South Africa but couldn't prove his fitness in time for the start of the series. Shami missed the first Test in Centurion as the BCCI waited for him to regain full fitness. But, he was ruled out of the second Test too, prompting the board to name Avesh as his replacement.

India's wait for a series win in South Africa goes on as they are routed in first Test

India's dream of winning a Test series in South Africa for the first time was ended inside three days as they crashed to an innings-and-32-run defeat at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Thursday.

India vs South Africa: How Kagiso Rabada Is Proving To Be A Thorn For Rohit Sharma In All Formats

Indian captain Rohit Sharma's vulnerability against Kagiso Rabada continued with his dismissal in the first innings of the opening Test match in Centurion on Tuesday. He was again dismissed by the same bowler on Thursday in India's second innings, that too for a duck. Rohit Sharma has been a prime target for Kagiso Rabada across all formats and has been troubled consistently. The South African paceman has now dismissed Sharma a total of 14 times across formats, which is the highest by any bowler.

"Tactically Big Mistake...": Ravi Shastri Underlines Fault In Rohit Sharma-led India's Strategy vs South Africa

The Rohit Sharma-led Indian cricket team endured a tough second day in the first Test against South Africa in Centurion on Wednesday. When bad light forced early stumps, South Africa had already taken a 11-run lead with five wickets remaining courtesy Den Elgar's classy unbeaten 140. Before that KL Rahul's 101 had taken India to 245, which many experts felt was a decent enough total. The start of India's bowling was not bad either as Mohammed Siraj dismissed Aiden Markram cheaply.

"Keeper Clueless, Bowler Livid": How Comedy Of Errors Helped KL Rahul Score A Brilliant Ton vs South Africa

KL Rahul played one pf the most memorable innings by an Indian batter in South Africa on Wednesday as the side put up a decent 245 in the first innings of the first Test in Centurion. The batter almost waged a lone battle scoring 101, while the next best individual score was 38 by Virat Kohli. Battling lean patch in Tests for a while, KL made a comeback playing on a tough Centurion surface, coming to the crease at 92/4, the middle-order batter batted for most of his knock with lower middle-order/lower-order batters to register a memorable comeback ton.

On India's Troubles In 1st Test Against South Africa, Sunil Gavaskar Namedrops Out-Of-Favour Star

Legendary Indian cricket team batter Sunil Gavaskar believes that the presence of veteran star Ajinkya Rahane could have boosted India's top order in the first Test match against South Africa in Centurion on Tuesday. India struggled to get going after the rain-delayed start on Day 1 and none of the top-order batters were able to capitalise on their starts with Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal all losing their wickets early. Rahane has fallen out of favour with the team management and was not included for the South Africa series after less than satisfactory performances in the past. However, Gavaskar said that his overseas record would have proven crucial in the South African conditions.