IND vs SA Fantasy Prediction Today | Fantasy Cricket Tips, Playing XI, Pitch Report – 1st Test Match, Soth Africa tour of India, 2025

Match Preview

India will look to continue with its winning momentum in the ongoing World Test Championship as it hosts the Proteas for a 2-match series starting this Friday. India recently defeated the West Indies and will be feeling confident as it heads to this contest. However, South Africa is a much tougher opponent, and the hosts need to be at the top of their game.

South Africa has been dealing with the tag of being ‘chokers’ when it comes to marquee tournaments. However, they managed to break the jinx earlier this year by lifting their first-ever ICC silverware. They have been a powerhouse in red-ball format under the leadership of Temba Bavuma, and will hope to continue playing well.

Team Stats

India	Vs	South Africa
10	Matches Played	10
40%	Win	90%
380	Average Score	389
587	Highest Score	626
185	Lowest Score	138

Head to Head Record

Teams	Matches Won
India	6
South Africa	4

Probable Playing XI

India Expected Playing 11

Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill (C), Sai Sudharsan, Dhurv Jurel, Rishabh Pant (WK), Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah

South Africa Expected Playing 11

Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Temba Bavuma (C), Tristan Stubbs, Tony de Zorzi, Kyle Verreyenne (WK), Senuran Muthusamy, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Simon Harmer

Also Check: IND vs SA Match Prediction

Injuries & Illnesses

Nitish Reddy will not be available for selection in the first Test match.

Pitch Report & Weather Conditions

The pitch at Eden Gardens is likely to be a black-soil one, with very little live grass. While there may be some assistance for the fast bowlers on the first couple of days, we expect the surface to slow down during the last three days, with spinners playing an important role.

The batsmen need to be patient and build their innings slowly. The older ball could reverse swing. All in all, we expect an engaging contest between the bat and ball.

The weather is expected to be clear with plenty of sunshine and pleasant temperatures.

IND vs SA Fantasy Top Picks

Wicketkeeper

Dhruv Jurel has been in brilliant form in his recent international and domestic outings and is the top pick. We are also selecting Rishabh Pant.

Batters

Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal have been among India’s best batsmen in Test matches and are the obvious choices. We are also selecting Aiden Markram, thanks to his all-round skills.

All Rounders

Ravindra Jadeja is arguably the best all-rounder in Test cricket and is the top pick; other choices include Axar Patel and Senuran Muthusamy.

Bowlers

Since all our all-rounders are spinners, we are including two seamers in the form of Jasprit Bumrah and Rabada. Keshav Maharaj comes in as the specialist spinner.

IND vs SA Captain and Vice-Captain Choices

Captain

As mentioned earlier, Ravindra Jadeja is among the best all-rounders and can contribute with the bat and the ball. He is our pick as the captain of the team.

Vice-Captain

We are nominating Shubman Gill as the vice-captain of our team. He has been India’s top run-scorer in Tests this year and could play a big knock.

IND vs SA Fantasy Team Head-to-Head Contests

IND vs SA Fantasy Team Mega Contests

IND vs SA Team Expert Advice

Since the pitch at Eden Gardens is likely to be balanced, we have selected a team that has an equal number of batsmen and bowlers. We have selected as many as three all-rounders to bring balance to the team, and our bowling unit is well-rounded too.

Notable stats

Most Fantasy points

Wiaan Mulder has 1271 points from the last 5 matches at an average of 254 points per game.

Most Runs

Wiaan Mulder (586), Dhruv Jurel (567), Temba Bavuma (482)

Most Wickets

Keshav Maharaj (41), Senuran Muthusamy (40), Jasprit Bumrah (37)