New Delhi, Dec 26: Virat Kohli-led Team India would be leaving for South African shores to embark upon their first challenge of 2018 to play against Proteas.
The number one ranked Test side, under the leadership of their charismatic skipper Kohli, will be locking horns with a dominant Faf du Plessis and his boys in 3 Tests, 6 ODIs and 3 T20Is.
The series starts with the first Test match between the two sides in Cape Town on January 5 and will conclude with the third and final Twenty20 international at the same venue on February 24.
The world no. 1 Indian team up against second-placed South Africa in their own den makes for an exciting contest. India have never won any series against South Africa in South Africa and they would be hoping to improve their numbers, this time around.
India will head into the opening Test at Newlands without a warm-up game. Kohli-led India are certainly on a roll, having won nine Tests series in a row, though most of those wins came in the sub-continent.
Captain Kohli, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane were amongst runs the last time India toured South Africa while Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan struggled. But a lot has changed since then so we expect a tight contest between the two sides.
Here's the full schedule of India's grilling tour:
Tests:
1st Test: Jan 05-09 2018 @ Newlands, Cape Town - SA won by 72 runs
2nd Test: Jan 13-17 2018 @ Supersport Park, Centurion - SA won by 135 runs
3rd Test: Jan 24-28 2018 @ New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg - Inda won by 63 runs
SA won Freedom Series 2-1
ODIs:
1st ODI: Feb 01, 2018, Thursday @ Kingsmead, Durban - India won by 6 wickets
2nd ODI: Feb 04, 2018, Sunday @ Supersport Park, Centurion India won by 9 wickets
3rd ODI: Feb 07, 2018, Wednesday @ Newlands, Cape Town India won by 124 runs
4th ODI: Feb 10, 2018, Saturday @ Wanderers, Johannesburg SA won by 5 wickets
5th ODI: Feb 13, 2018, Tuesday, Port Elizabeth India won by 73 runs
6th ODI: Feb 16, 2018, Friday, Centurion - India won by 8 wickets
India won Momentum series 5-1
Twenty20Is
1st T20I: Feb 18, 2018, Sunday @ Johannesburg - India won by 28 runs
2nd T20I: Feb 21, 2018, Wednesday @ Centurion - SA won by 6 wickets
3rd T20I: Feb 24, 2018, Saturday @ Newlands, Cape Town - India won by 7 runs
India Won series 2-1