Along with the fear of Corona virus, there is also the shadow of rain on the first ODI of India and South Africa. It is very important for Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association to conduct this match. Earlier, India and South Africa T20 match played here could not be held due to rain. 

What is the weather pattern

The Indian team is scheduled to play its first match of the three-match series against South Africa in Dharamsala on Thursday. Two days before the match, the rain has raised questions over the conduct of the match. There was rain in Dharamsala on Tuesday night, while it also rained heavily on Wednesday.

There was a heavy rain during the practice of the Indian team, after which the ground had to be completely covered. Some officials of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association and locals have also prayed at the nearby Indrunag temple to ensure that the rain does not become a villain during the match. The match is scheduled to be played this afternoon and 100 percent rain and storm is expected. 

Pitch mood

The pitch of Dharamshala is generally considered to be helpful to batsmen. Runs are rained here, but due to rain the pitch has been continuously covered. In such a match, the fast bowlers are expected to help a lot. The fast bowlers will get a lot of swing when there is a possibility of rain and strong winds. Bounce in the pitch is also enough, so the batsmen will have to play well.  

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The first match of the three-match Test series between India and South Africa is being played at the ACA-VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam. Batting first after winning the toss, Team India has scored 259 runs in 73 overs without losing any wickets. Rohit Sharma (148 runs) and Mayank Agarwal (108 runs) are at the crease.

Mayank Agarwal has given his first century of Test career. Aggarwal completed his century in 204 balls. During this, he hit 13 fours and 2 sixes. Let me tell you that Mayank Agarwal is playing his first Test match in India. Mayank Agarwal scored a century in the first Test innings in India. Let me tell you that Mayank made his debut against Australia in Melbourne in December last year, in which he scored a brilliant 76 runs.

Even after this, half-centuries were scored with his bat but he could not convert it into a century. Mayank Agarwal has rooted three fifties earlier. In his debut match, he scored 76 runs against Australia. At the same time, Mayank Agarwal was dismissed after scoring 77 runs in the second match.

The last session could not be played on day one

Due to bad weather, the last session of the first day could not be played and the game was declared to be over much ahead of time. Only two sessions could be played on the first day. India scored 202 runs in 59.1 overs without losing any wickets till the tee break, when the rain came and it was announced to end the game of the second session. After this, continuous rain continued and the umpires announced to end the game of the first day of a session.

Rohit hits a century in opening debut

Rohit Sharma has scored his first century in the Test while opening. Rohit has scored a century in 154 balls with the help of 10 fours and 4 sixes. This is the fourth century of Rohit’s Test career. Rohit completed a century by taking a single off the last ball of the 54th over. He faced 154 balls for a century. Looking at Rohit’s Test career, he made a brilliant debut against the West Indies in 2013 by scoring a century, but after that, he had to struggle to maintain his place.

Let us know that earlier in the practice match, Rohit Sharma got down to open, he was dismissed for zero. But in the first Test match against South Africa, Rohit Sharma looted runs. In the beginning, Rohit played a little, but later he hit fours and sixes. Rohit opened the account by hitting Kagiso Rabada on the backward point on the second ball of the second over of the match. Rohit completed the half-century by hitting a four in the 29th over. This is the 11th half-century of his Test career while being the first as an opener.

Indian batsmen scoring centuries in the first innings as opener

187 Shikhar Dhawan vs Australia, Mohali 2012/13

110 KL Rahul vs Australia, Sydney 2014/15

134 Prithvi Shaw vs West Indies, Rajkot 2018/19

100 * Rohit Sharma vs South Africa, Visakhapatnam 2019/20

India won the toss

India won the toss and decided to bat first and bowled first to South Africa. India announced its playing eleven a day before the match. Rohit Sharma has been selected as the opener for the first time in Tests. Kohli has given a chance to veteran wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha by dropping young wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant for this match. This will be Saha’s first series after returning from injury.

Being the hosts, India is considered a strong contender for victory. Rohit has been playing in the middle order so far in the Test, but due to the poor form of Lokesh Rahul, he has got an opportunity to start the innings in the Test. In the practice match against South Africa, Rohit was out for just two balls without scoring any runs. After this zero, pressure has been increased on Rohit to prove himself.

He was not elected to the final-11 in the Windies. He was in good form with the bat before he was out due to injury and was also doing wicketkeeping brilliantly. It will be a challenge for Saha to continue the same form. The absence of Jasprit Bumrah for India in bowling is a matter of concern. He is out due to injury. In his absence, the responsibility of Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami has increased. Kohli has given the chance of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin in the last-11. Apart from these two, Vihari is also an off-spinner.

This big record will be made by winning the series

On the other hand, the Indian team will go home with the intention of winning a record 11th consecutive Test series at home. This series is of three Tests. Team India has been winning Test series on its soil continuously since February 2013. At present, India and Australia are on a par with winning 10-10 Test home series in a row. Australia has won 10 consecutive Test series on its soil twice (November 1994 to November 2000 and July 2004 to November 2008).

Playing xi

Team India: Virat Kohli (captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, R.K. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha (wicketkeeper), Ishant Sharma, Mo. Shami

South Africa: Aiden Markram, Dean Elgar, This de Bruyn, Temba Bavuma, Faf du Plessis (captain), Quinton de Cock ( wicketkeeper), Vernon Philander, Senuran Muthusamy, Keshav Maharaj, Dan Pete, Kagiso Rabada

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