On December 26 South Africa and India will clash in a crucial showdown to be played at Centurion's SuperSport Park. More importantly, this two-match series is part of the World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle. India has made eight attempts so far without prevailing in a single Test match on South African soil and they are hoping to finally break their duck there during this latest tour.

The return of Stars like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah gives India a much beefed-up squad that poses a daunting challenge to the Proteas. However, for South Africa they have their own potent pace-bowling trio returning home with Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Gerald Coetzee. This Pace Troika could be real cause of concern to the Indian batting order as well.

Head to Head - In their Test history against South Africa, India have been involved in a closely-fought struggle 32 times; there are15 Indian victories and 17 for the Proteas.

Pitch Report - One can expect the pitch at SuperSport Park to be bouncy, providing assistance for fast bowlers and spinners alike. Pitch Curator Brian confirms that spinners can also enjoy a helping hand from the pitch. But the prospect of rain on those first two days may prove beneficial to both teams 'speedsters.

Where to watch - The match will be televised live on Star Sports. It can also be streamed online via the Disney+ Hotstar app and website.

India's probable playing eleven: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Sira

South Africa's probable playing eleven: Dean Elgar, Temba Bavuma (C), Aiden Markram, Keegan Petersen, Tony de Zorzi; Kyle Verreynne (WK) Keshav Maharaj , Lungi Ngidi. Kagiso Rabada. Gerald Coetzee and Nandra Burger With the stage properly set for an exciting battle, cricket fans can anticipate a great Boxing day Test match between India and South Africa.

Picture Credit- Times Now