South Africa will go toe-to-toe with Australia in the first Test of the three-match series at Kingsmead in Durban, starting on Friday, October 9.
While Australia is in the top spot in the WTC 2025-27 standings, South Africa is ranked second. The hosts come into this Test series after a 2-0 Test series win over India in November 2025. Meanwhile, Australia levelled the recent two-match Test series against Bangladesh 1-1 in August 2026.
SA vs AUS, Test Series 2026, Match 1, Match Details
Match: South Africa vs Australia, Test Series 2026, Match 1
Time & Date: 1:00 PM IST, October 9 to 13
Venue: Kingsmead, Durban
SA vs AUS, Test Series 2026, Match 1 Pitch Report
Extra bounce is on offer for the new-ball bowlers on the Durban surface. Spinners come into play in the later stages of the game, while batters need to spend some time before scoring runs on this surface.
SA vs AUS, Test Series 2026, Match 1 Probable XIs
South Africa
Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, David Bedingham, Temba Bavuma (c), Tristan Stubbs, Wiaan Mulder, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Simon Harmer, Anrich Nortje
Australia
Matthew Renshaw, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (wk), Cooper Connolly, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
SA vs AUS, Test Series 2026, Match 1 Top Picks
Keshav Maharaj
South African premium spinner Keshav Maharaj has scalped 32 wickets in his last seven games at a strike rate of 49.12.
Mitchell Starc
Australian pacer Mitchell Starc has picked up 58 wickets in his last 10 Tests at a strike rate of 27.79.
SA vs AUS, Test Series 2026, Match 1 Captain picks
Temba Bavuma
South African skipper Temba Bavuma has scored 3810 runs in 66 Tests, including four centuries and 26 half-centuries.
Steve Smith
Australian No.4 batter Steve Smith has scored 570 runs in his last eight Tests at an average of 47.5
SA vs AUS, Test Series 2026, Match 1 Head-to-head Dream11 team
Matthew Renshaw, Ryan Rickelton, Temba Bavuma, Steve Smith (c), Cooper Connolly, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj (vc)
SA vs AUS, Test Series 2026, Match 1 Grand League Dream11 team
Matthew Renshaw, Ryan Rickelton, Temba Bavuma (c), Steve Smith, Aiden Markram, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc (vc), Josh Hazlewood, Wiaan Mulder, Anrich Nortje, Keshav Maharaj
