SOUTH Africa won the toss and sent India in to bat after a rain delay on the first day of the first Test match at SuperSport Park in Centurion in South Africa today.
Heavy rain overnight and during the morning delayed the start by four and a half hours.
There was a good covering of grass on the pitch, which was expected to help the fast bowlers.
India went into the match without injured left-arm fast bowler Zaheer Khan. Fellow left-armer Jaidev Unadkat replaced Khan, winning his first Test cap.
South Africa picked left-arm fast bowler Lonwabo Tsotsobe ahead of all-rounder Ryan McLaren.
There were due to be 48 overs of play, a prospect which seemed unlikely earlier in the day when heavy rain blanketed the ground, flooding nearby roads and causing a river near the ground to overflow.
Teams:
South Africa: Graeme Smith (captain), Alviro Petersen, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Ashwell Prince, Mark Boucher, Dale Steyn, Paul Harris, Morne Morkel, Lonwabo Tsotsobe.
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Jaidev Unadkat, Ishant Sharma, Sree Sreesanth.
Umpires: Steve Davis (AUS), Ian Gould (ENG)
TV umpire: Shaun George (RSA)
Match referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM)
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