Huge Rain Threat Over India's Boxing Day Test vs South Africa, Batters Will Face Tough Challenge

The batters could be in for some challenging times with the Supersport Park track expected to aid the fast bowlers as rain threat looms large over the opening Test between India and South Africa, curator Brain Bloy said on Saturday. The Centurion curator said that there is little possibility of play on opening day and better part of second day and due to heavy rain, there will be drop in temperature and spinners are unlikely to get much help.

"Temperature will be super low, like 20 degrees. The temperature is now 34 and it will drop to 20. I don't know what conditions will be like, whether we will get play on Day 1," Bloy told PTI after his regular inspection of work.

"Hopefully we will get some play and it will be cool on Day 3 and I don't know how much turn will be available." The opening Test begins on December 26.

Bloy said that if track remains under cover, batting first will be a tough ask.

"I can't guarantee the forecast but if it remains under cover for the better part of the two days then that might be tricky to bat first, because its been covered for so long and hasn't been rolled for so long, we don't know how long we will have to get the field ready for play in current situation.

"So if it's a Day-3, 10 am start, it doesn't give us much time, because it's in the morning and you start playing at 10 and really three hours of cool weather and early morning will be tricky. If its covered for two days, I would presume bowlers would benefit from it." For Bloy, the idea is to prepare a typical Centurion wicket.

"Our goal is to stick to the characteristics, not do anything different or out of the ordinary. I want it to be typical hard wicket as per Centurion's conditions.

"The wicket is quite green and we have got