After an impressive outing in the ODI and T20 series, South Africa would be looking to put up a similar performance against India in the four-match Test series, which starts on 5 November at Mohali.
Prior to the mega series, South Africa will play against Indian Board President's XI in a two-day warm up match at the Cricket Club of India's Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai starting Friday. The match is going to act as perfect preparation for the South African players, who will use it to get back into Test mode.
Some Proteas players such as Vernon Philander and wicket keeper Dane Vilas need such games to get used to Indian conditions. The South Africa duo was not picked for the ODI or the T20 series, but are expected to play an important part in the Test series.
The two-day affair also provides an ideal chance for youngsters in the Board President's XI to come up with a good performance and impress the selectors.
With South Africa having an incredible bowling line up, including Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Imran Tahir, the Indian players will get a dose of some top class bowling. Will they be able to stand up to the pressure?
The Indian Board President's XI comprises a number of quality players, such as Cheteshwar Pujara and KL Rahul, who will be watched with keen interest in the two- day affair as they are both members of the Test side.
If the duo gets their act going in the warm-up game, they can put forward a strong claim for a starting role in the Test series, which promises to be an interesting one. Apart from these batsmen, Unmukt Chand and Shreyas Iyer are also players to watch out for. Without a shadow of doubt, these batsmen will have their task cut out if South Africa field their best bowlers.
Coming to the Indian Board President's XI bowling line-up, India have Karn Sharma as the main spinner in the team. However, the focus will primarily lie on lesser known pacer, Nathu Singh, who grabbed eyeballs with a great bowling performance in the Ranji game against Delhi , where he managed to take seven wickets in the second innings.
India have always failed to produce quality fast bowlers, but Nathu has shown lot of promise in recent domestic games and the think-tank has thrown him in the mix. It will be interesting to note his performance against some world class South Africa batsmen such as AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis amongst others.
Squad
Indian Board President XI: Cheteshwar Pujara (c), KL Rahul, Unmukt Chand, Karun Nair, Shreyas Iyer, Naman Ojha (wk), Hardik Pandya, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Nathu Singh, Karn Sharma, Sheldon Jackson
South Africa: Hashim Amla (c), , Temba Bavuma, J P Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar, Simon Harmer, Imran Tahir, Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn, Stiaan van Zyl, Dane Vilas (wk).
Where to watch
The warm up game between India Board President's XI vs South Africa will not be broadcast on any TV channel in India. The live streaming option is also not available. The match is scheduled for 9:30 am local time (6am SAST) start.
However, cricket fans in India can follow the live scores and updates here.
