India are saddled with toughest conditions for Centurion Test

On 12 tours of SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) nations since 2011, only twice have India won the series opening Test. One of them culminated in a series win, during the 2018-19 tour of Australia. The other came in 2021, at Centurion where-much against an established narrative for visiting teams India trounced South Africa by 113 runs. It was hailed as a promising prologue to a tour that was till then considered beyond India's reach. That momentum however was frittered away as South Africa bounced back to win the next two Tests.

- Somshuvra Laha

India had experienced something opposite earlier that year, when Australia looked firmly poised to clinch the home tour after dismissing them for 36 in the series opener at Adelaide. But in a rare show of resilience, India beat unprecedented odds in the form of multiple injuries and the absence of Virat Kohli to wrest that series 2-1. As invigorating as that Australia series win or the Centurion victory were, they are also basically happy aberrations if seen from the larger context of how tours tend to be influenced by outcomes of the opening Test. Which is why there can be no overlooking the stark reality of India in SENA countries since 2011: 10 defeats in 12 series, all 10 of them starting with either defeat or draw.

Few aspects of cricket are more difficult for a visiting team than setting the tone for the series in the first Test. No number of practice games readies you for the actual surface, the elements, the opponents or even the atmosphere.