Overview
- The two-Test series starts Friday in Kolkata, with the second match at Guwahati’s Barsapara Stadium, which will host men’s Test cricket for the first time with revised sessions of 9:00 a.m. start, tea at 11:00 a.m., lunch at 1:20 p.m., and stumps at 4:00 p.m.
- The BCCI dropped New Delhi as a venue because of poor air quality and adjusted Guwahati’s timings to maximize daylight, with Kolkata to use standard hours.
- Gill acknowledged a late call between an extra seamer and an additional spinner, saying India’s spinners often decide home Tests but noting early moisture and reverse swing could bring Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj into play.
- Pitch inspections point to a sporting Eden surface expected to deteriorate later, with local assurances it will not be a rank turner; Graeme Smith stressed South Africa must handle Bumrah early to avoid exposing batters to spin.
- South Africa arrive as WTC champions with a proven spin unit—Keshav Maharaj, Simon Harmer and Senuran Muthusamy—after their spinners dominated a 1-1 series in Pakistan, heightening the premium on a fast start in this short WTC campaign.