CAPE TOWN (AFP) - India won the toss and decided to bat in the first Test against South Africa at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Sunday.
The South Africa team wore black armbands in honor of anti-apartheid icon Desmond Tutu, described as the country’s moral compass, who died on Sunday aged 90.
Both teams also held a minute’s silence.
India captain Virat Kohli seeking a historic away Test series win in South Africa said past history on the ground persuaded him to bat.
“The wicket looks nice,” said Kohli.
“There is a lot of grass on it but historically it tends to get faster from day two onwards.”
Kohli said he traced India’s recent success in away series to their win in the third Test in Johannesburg four seasons ago after they had lost the first two matches.
“That gave us a lot of confidence,” he said.
But he admitted: “this is a very challenging place to play cricket in. We have to be at our absolute best.”
South Africa gave a surprise debut to tall left-arm fast bowler Marco Jansen, 21.
“He’s had a lot of success against the India A side, he hit quite a few of their batters,” said South African captain Dean Elgar.
Jansen’s inclusion meant there was no place for fast bowler Duanne Olivier, back in the South African ranks after three seasons as a Kolpak player in England.