West Indies vs South Africa: 1st Test.

• Teams: West Indies vs South Africa.
• Venue: Gros Islet
• Time: 7:30 pm IST.

• Preview: The first Test between West Indies and South Africa is all set to be played at the Daren Sammy National Cricket stadium. The ground has not hosted a Test since early 2019 when England beat West Indies. This will be the first international outing of South African skipper Dean Elgar. Both the teams will be looking to start fresh and find the proper setup for the respective Test sides.

• Weather Report: Reports say there may be rain on Day 2 and Day 3, but the rest of the days will be bright and sunny. The temperature is expected to be around 17°C.

• Pitch Report: The pitch at Gros Islet St Lucia is a bowling-friendly wicket, it has bounce and pace to offer, also spinners will come into play from Day 3 onwards. The average first innings score is 184. The pitch is ideally a win the toss and bat first pitch. Out of the 7 matches, not a single time a target has been chased. There have been 4 draws.

• H2H:

Played – 28 | West Indies – 3 | South Africa – 18 | Draw – 7 (Overall).

Played – 13 | West Indies – 2 | South Africa – 6 | Draw – 5 (In WI).

• H2H Performance:

The 2 sides last played a test match way back in 2015. Both the teams have undergone numerous changes since then. Some of the performers of that series are:

WI:

Blackwood: 69 runs (2 Inns).

Holder: 25 runs, 2 wickets (2 Inns).

Kraigg Braithwaite: 23 runs (2 Inns).

RSA:

Dean Elgar: 68 runs (2 Inns).

Bavuma: 15 runs (2 Inns).

The 2 Sides also played a 2 match test series in 2014.

WI:

Blackwood: 27 runs.

Holder: 1 wicket.

Kraigg Braithwaite: 160 runs.

Roach: 2 wickets.

RSA:

Dean Elgar: 149 runs (1 100), 1 wicket.

De Kock: 18 runs.

Bavuma: 10 runs.

• Recent Performance:

South Africa played a Test Series against Pakistan in 2021 which they lost 2-0. Some performers of that tour were:

RSA:

Markram: 227 runs (4 inns). HS: 108.

Bavuma: 162 runs (4 Inns). HS: 64.

Van der Dussen: 129 runs (4 Inns). HS: 58.

Elgar: 119 runs (4 Inns). HS: 51.

Keshav Maharaj: 10 wickets (4 Inns).

Nortje: 9 wickets (4 Inns).

Rabada: 5 wickets (4 Inns).

West Indies hosted Srilanka in a 2 match Test Series but both the matches ended in draws.

WI:

Kraigg Braithwaite: 237 runs (4 Inns). HS:126.

Kyle Mayers: 201 runs (4 Inns). HS: 55.

Bonner: 144 runs (4 Inns). HS: 113.

Holder: 138 runs (4 Inns). HS: 71.

Roach: 9 wickets (4 Inns).

Holder: 7 wickets (4 Inns).

Mayers: 4 wickets (4 Inns).

• Venue Performance:

Highest Run Getter:

Kraigg Braithwaite: 277 runs (8 Inns). 3 50s.

Roston Chase: 168 runs (6 Inns). 1 100.

Dwayne Bravo: 147 runs (6 Inns). 1 50.

Highest Wicket Taker:

Roach: 17 wickets (6 Inns).

Joseph: 6 wickets (4 Inns).

• Common Players:

RSA: Elgar, Bavuma, Rabada, Markram.

WI: Braithwaite, Holder, Roach, Mayers.

• Teams:

RSA:Dean Elgar (C), Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verrynne, Keegan Petersen, Quinton de Kock (Wk), Wiaan Mulder, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi.

WI:  Kraigg Brathwaite (C), Shai Hope, Nkrumah Bonner, Kyle Mayers, Jermaine Blackwood, Roston Chase, Jason Holder, Joshua da Silva, (Wk) , Rahkeem Cornwall, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales.

• Fantasy Team:

Wk: De Kock.

Batsmen: Elgar, Brathwaite, Dussen.

All Rounders: Holder, Mayers, Mulder, Roach.

Bowlers: Roach, Rabada, Ngidi.

Safe C/Vc: Holder, Elgar, Brathwaite.

Differential C/Vc: Roach, Rabada, De Kock.

Risky: Mayers, Maharaj, Ngidi.

• Disclaimer: Not many options to choose from. Do go through the conditions and recent records before finalising the playing Xi.