India vs South Africa Live Score: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill depart early for IND in Centurion

Shubman Gill was done by the extra bounce of Burger when he tried to dab the ball on the leg side for a boundary. It was an unlucky way to get out however, the batter should learn quickly he needs to let go of these sorts of deliveries when the ball is red. Bavuma has not put a foot wrong this morning yet. Shreyas Iyer has walked into the middle and he will be tested with a lot of short stuff. He along with Virat Kohli has a lot of work to do and India needs to make sure they don't lose one more wicket in this session. with sun out batting might get a touch easier later on in the day. 

Jaiswal goes. The batter has been softened up by a few bumpers and back-of-length deliveries. Burger had the presence of mind to pitch the ball and Jaiswal's inexperience showed when drove the ball and was caught in slips. 

Rohit Sharma plays a pull shot which goes straight to the fine leg fielder Burger who is on debut. It is a shot he has played to perfection in recent times in white ball cricket however, in red ball, he has played it and got out a few times in a similar fashion and has attracted some criticism and we might see some of it tomorrow from experts once again.

Shubman Gill has walked into the middle and it is a good opportunity for him to show his mettle in these difficult conditions. Though he has been fabulous in white-ball cricket that potential is yet to be converted into red-ball format.

INDIA are 13/1

Rohit Sharma has not been afraid to go after the bowling in even red ball format. Against Pat Cummins earlier this year he was ruthless anything poor he just went after it and showed no respect to the Australian skipper whatsoever in Nagpur. However, this is a different challenge altogether for the batter. The surface is a lot greener and Rabada is looking a lot sharper than Cummins who was a bit rusty that afternoon. We might also see a situation where instead of attempting to see this new ball off both players might counterattack and put the South African bowlers off their lengths. 

Yashasvi Jaiswal scored a boundary on the last ball of that first over when Rabada missed his line and strayed onto the pads of the left-hander only once in the over. There have been plenty of plays and misses in that first over and Jaiswal needs to get used to it as it will happen plenty of times throughout this first session. Pollock on commentary reckons that the surface will get only quicker from here on. Jansen has taken the new ball from the other end and it will be interesting to watch how Rohit Sharma will deal with the tall left-arm bowler who he traditionally struggles against. 

It is overcast and the surface looks green as is expected in overseas conditions and the openers have their job cut out. They need to see off this new ball and protect the middle order. It will be a big challenge for the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill. 

Rohit Sharma(c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

Wasn't too sure (on batting or bowling). We are quite aware of the conditions, we have been here a few times. We need to put runs on the board and the bowlers will do the job for us. We do understand the challenge of batting first with the overhead conditions and the grass, but the guys are up for the challenge. Everytime we come here, we come with high hopes. We've come close in the last 2 tours. We are pretty confident with our squad and the make-up of our squad. We are playing with four seamers and a spinner. Ashwin is playing in place of Jadeja. Jaddu had a bit of a back spasm, so Ashwin comes in and he is a quality spinner to have. Prasidh is making his debut, along with the other pacers Shardul, Siraj and Bumrah.

We'll bowl first. Wicket has been under covers, we want to use the moisture and make early inroads. Our boys have all got into reasonably fit conditions, Lungi is the only one who's not yet fully fit. Two debutants today - Nandre Burger and David Bedingham. We're playing with four seamers for this one. It is always difficult to come up against India, but we are ready with our preparation

Mr Ravindra Jadeja complained of upper back spasms on the morning of the match. He was not available for selection for the first Test.

Toss coming up in 15 minutes from Centurion

Rahul has shown the technical prowess needed to score runs in challenging conditions. However, his unquestionable talent has not been converted into substantial numbers. How can a player as talented and technically sound average 33.44 after 47 Tests?

However, Rahul would be hoping a change in position will bring a change in fortune as it did for him in ODIs. One of the critical phases of play, especially in overseas Tests, is when the fielding team takes the second new ball. KS Bharath, the other option in the squad, has shown he is a decent gloveman, but his batting has not assured the team he could deal with the second cherry.

Good covering of grass. Teams tend to bat first because it tends to start a bit slow. As the Test progresses, there might be a bit of up and down movement which could be tricky to handle. Batting will get difficult as the Test progresses. With the weather conditions, South Africa would be tempted to go without a spinner. With the sun out, the pitch tends to crack a bit more and get the spinners into play. Don't expect the pitch to change too much across the Test. The best approach is bat first, guts it out in the first two session and be happy if you're just 2 down at Lunch.

In many ways, batting is about transferring weight and being still when playing a shot. Unlike Williamson, who looks to get forward with a small press but then that step is just the start of Williamson’s negotiations, not the end.

“From that forward press, depending on the length, Kane either pushes back or gets forward further,” Johnston says. “He doesn’t allow the bowler to dictate lengths by being crease bound.” Gill does.

If cloudy conditions force the South African pacers to hit a full length in search of movement, rather than hurl it short of length as they might do on home tracks, it can get interesting for Gill. The best young Indian batsman of this generation, on paper, has to show that he is the best young Indian batsman of this generation – on the field.

Now, in South Africa, though there is no Anrich Nortje who deals in that good length with pace, he will be up against Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi, a tall left-handed seamer in Marco Jansen as well as right-arm pacer Gerald Coetzee. In theory, as Williamson’s coach said, Gill should prosper in South African conditions as he did in Australia, but if the pacers have done their homework aligned with the demands of the conditions, it can get tricky.

The toss and start of the 1st Test between South Africa and India have been delayed due to wet patches on the outfield.

Further inspection at 10:00 AM (1.30 PM IST)#SAvIND

— BCCI (@BCCI) December 26, 2023

"South Africa is one of the most difficult countries to play Test cricket in. Even if we play all over the country, this is one country where you can't expect [to know] what you will get from the pitch."

'We've spoken about Dean, but it's equally important to blood the young guys so they feel comfortable in this environment so they're able to play their best cricket.'

A day ahead of the Test, captain Rohit Sharma was all praises for KL Rahul, who was India’s man behind the stumps at the ODI World Cup and had hinted before the ODIs that he wished to keep that spot for the Tests as well. Rohit on Monday, made it more evident, “The way he kept in the World Cup was very pleasing. He was keen to keep in Tests. Gives us option of a solid bat in the middle-order. He bats well, understands the game during different stages of the game. Not sure how long he wants to keep,” the Indian skipper said.

With Ishan Kishan having left South Africa ahead of the Tests and KS Bharat’s dismal record with the bat off his few outings for India so far, Rohit Sharma and Co are likely to rely upon Rahul as their main keeper and a middle order batter alongside Shreyas Iyer to strengthen their batting.

The Centurion Test will also mark the first instance of Jasprit Bumrah steaming in to bowl with the red cherry for India since the Edgbaston Test against England in July 2022. The pace spearhead had been out of action for over a year until his comeback for the team in August this year, following which he’s only featured in the white-ball format.

While Mohammed Siraj is also a sure shot starter, the absence of Mohammed Shami has left a big void to be filled. One that is settled to be occupied by Prasidh Krishna over Mukesh Kumar. While Mukesh has already made his debut for India in whites, Prasidh’s added stature lends him the advantage of extracting extra bounce off the pitch, more margin for error with his length and the best chance of juicing life from the surface.

Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj

Dean Elgar, Temba Bavuma (C), Aiden Markram, Keegan Petersen, Tony de Zorzi, Kyle Verreynne (WK), Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada, Gerald Coetzee, Nandre Burger.

Hello, and welcome to our coverage of the red-ball clash between India and South Africa. The series is intriguing on many levels. Firstly, it is a part of WTC; hence, both teams will be at it to win the series. And secondly, of SENA, the only place left unconquered is South Africa by India in the red-ball game, so add that to the agenda, and given all the narrative of South African Test cricket is in tatters, we might have a mouth-watering few days of cricket. Stay with us to catch all of it.