SA vs Ind, 1st Test: Players observe moment of silence in honour of late Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Dec 26, 2021
Centurion [South Africa], December 26 : India and South Africa players observed a moment of silence in memory of the late archbishop and anti-apartheid activist Emeritus Desmond Tutu ahead of the start of play in Centurion on Sunday.
The Proteas, in addition, also wore black armbands in honour of Tutu on the first day of the first Test match against India. South Africa as a nation is mourning world-renowned statesman, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu who passed away this morning.
India skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and opted to bat first in the first Test of the three-match series against South Africa at the SuperSport Park, Centurion. At the time of the toss, Kohli said: "We will bat first. Runs on the board playing away home has been our strength. The pitch tends to quicken up here on Day 2-3. Our success away from home started from the series we played here last time. A very challenging place to play."
India has never won a Test series in South Africa and Kohli would look to create history on the Proteas turf.
South Africa endured a 3-0 series defeat in India when the teams last met in the long format, back in 2019. In the last of those matches, the Proteas were flattened by an innings and 202 runs in Ranchi, bowled out for 162 and 133 in reply to India's 497/9 declared.
India playing XI: KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, Shardul Thakur, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami.
South Africa playing XI: Dean Elgar (c), Aiden Markram, Keegan Petersen, Rassie van der Dussen, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock, Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi.