The track is historically a high-scoring one and the outfield is quick. But on a red soil surface, the ball grips and can surprise the batters.
Rishabh Pant is making a comeback to competitive cricket after recovering from his foot injury.
'We would like to believe and back ourselves to know these conditions or adapt to these conditions a lot faster even if we find them slightly different, as compared to, say, somebody who is brought up in Johannesburg and has played all his cricket at the Wanderers ground.'
Sai Sudharsan and Dhruv Jurel faced spinners while wearing only one pad to counter the turning deliveries, a method that comes with an element of risk, in Kolkata on Monday.
The Indian team management has kept the media guessing but Rishabh Pant is set to become India's 38th Test captain.
'I definitely believe the kind of form he is in, the way he is batting, it will strengthen the Indian batting line-up.'
India will be desperate for a quality replacement for the crucial No. 4 slot with Shubman Gill likely to be ruled out for the must-win second and final Test against South Africa.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction saw some foreign names earning big bucks, headlined by Aussie all-rounder Cameron Green
South Africa completed a memorable 2-0 series sweep against India after off-spinner Simon Harmer claimed 6/37 to bowl the Proteas to a comprehensive 408-run victory in the second Test,
Application required in Test cricket was missing, says Kumble after India's batting collapse
Marco Jansen demolished the Indian batting line-up with a six-wicket haul before South Africa extended their lead on Day 3 of the second and final Test.
In India's first innings, only Yashasvi Jaiswal (58 off 97 balls) and Washington Sundar (48 off 92 balls) could contribute substantially as the home team suffered a batting collapse after starting the day at 9 for no loss.
The last time two specialist keepers played together in a Test was in 1986, when Kiran More and Chandrakant Pandit featured in the same XI, with Pandit playing as a batter.
For the first time in many years, India are going into a home Test match as underdogs and not favourites. Ask any player worth his salt and he would tell that it is not a happy place to be.
Rishabh Pant was ruled out for nearly three months after he fractured his foot during the fourth Test against England in Manchester in July.
Expect some fireworks for the highly-versatile Cameron Green along with Quinton de Kock, Matheesha Pathirana, Venkatesh Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi.
India's awe-inspiring batting depth will face a stern test against South Africa's quality spin attack in the first Test, starting in Kolkata on Friday.
Shubman Gill might just want to be fit enough to bat, as even a half-fit skipper is seen as more effective than Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran or Sarfaraz Khan.
Saurashtra registered their narrowest T20 victory in terms of runs, edging Karnataka by one run in the Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025 Elite Group D match.
The series promises a fascinating duel between the two modern-day pace greats.
India bowling coach Morne Morkel admitted his side was "surprised" by how quickly the Eden Gardens surface "deteriorated" after a dramatic second day in which 15 wickets fell and the opening Test swung sharply in India's favour.
Ahead of the mini-auction, scheduled to be held in Doha on December 26, the 10 franchises have released their list of retained and released players.
Shami puts Bengal on top of points table with easy win vs Services
'...the guys who are just part of Test cricket, I think for them to prepare and play domestic cricket is very, very important.'
Shami's five wickets on final day sets up fine win for Bengal over Gujarat in Ranji Trophy
Mhatre's maiden ton, Dube blitz fire Mumbai to seven-wicket win over Vidarbha
Underdogs Nagaland showed they are made of sterner stuff as their batters fought tooth and nail all day to score 365/5 and frustrate Tamil Nadu who would be fancying their chances of enforcing a follow-on after a mammoth 512-run first-innings total in a Ranji Trophy Group A match in Bengaluru on Monday.
Liston Colaco struck a brace as 10-man Mohun Bagan Super Giant beat Mohammedan Sporting 3-1 to begin their Durand Cup campaign at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Thursday.
Ajinkya Rahane hits 159 in Ranji Trophy match against Chhattisgarh
East Bengal FC moved a step closer to securing a knockout berth at the 134th Durand Cup with a narrow 1-0 win over a resilient Namdhari FC in a tightly contested Group A match in Kolkata on Wednesday.
A threat about the presence of bombs on an Akasa Air flight at Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar was received on social media, but it later turned out to be a hoax, an official of the airport said on Thursday.
Reigning champions Kolkata Knight Riders will hope that their strife-ridden batting unit will tighten its act against in-form table-toppers Gujarat Titans in the IPL match in Kolkata on Monday.
Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan are the first opening pair in the history of T20 cricket to chase 200 or more twice.
This dismissal marked Maxwell's 19th duck in IPL history, making him the all-time leader in this unwanted record, surpassing Rohit Sharma and Dinesh Karthik.
Gill hails Indian Armed Forces for role in successful resumption of IPL 2025
Gujarat Titans handed defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders an emphatic 39-run loss in the IPL 2025 match in Kolkata on Monday.
'It's great to see him growing as a player, evolving across formats, and now being rewarded with national honours as well.'
'In-flight charcha with our Captain and Vice-Captain Sahab!. PS: We'll be reminding Shubman about your bat, Rashid Bhai!' GT captioned the video.
Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene on Friday said star pacer Jasprit Bumrah was still recuperating from a back injury and that the team was waiting for him to be cleared by the National Cricket Academy (NCA).
Gujarat Titans will look to bounce back from the carnage that wonder boy Vaibhav Suryavanshi inflicted on them when they face a stuttering Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL match in Ahmedabad on Friday.
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