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India will go into next week's first Test against South Africa with no preparation time in the middle after their only warm-up fixture against an invitational South African XI in Benoni was abandoned on Friday without a ball being bowled.
The two-day game was called off entirely after ground staff indicated they would not be able to get the waterlogged field playable following more than 800 millimetres of rain in the past three weeks.
India's two-Test series in South Africa starts at The Wanderers in Johannesburg on Wednesday, with the second game at Kingsmead in Durban from Dec. 26.
The practice match wash-out is a huge setback for the Indian team, which has already endured a 0-2 drubbing in the three-match ODI series.
The ODIs concluded on Sunday, with the final match being washed-out after the home side, led by Quinton de Kock’s his third successive hundred and a century also from captain A B de Villiers, posted an imposing 301 for 8 after electing to bat.
The two-match Test series starts on December 18, in Johannesburg.
Image: Willowmoore Park in Benoni, South Africa
Photograph: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images