Seventy days for 31 match-days, excluding the arrival and departure days. That is the itinerary of the South African team's tour of India this year. The Proteas will play three T20 Internationals, five ODIs and four Tests in that order in what will be their longest stay in India.
Tour begins with a T20 tour game in Delhi on September 29, three days before the first T20 International in Dharamsala. The limited-overs leg goes on till the fifth ODI in Mumbai on October 25 after which a two day practice game will be played in the same city ahead of the four Tests. Between the limited overs and the Tests, the South Africans will spend two days in Goa as a team building exercise.
This is only the second time that India and South Africa will be involved in a four Test series, and the first in India. Cricket South Africa quoted its chief executive Haroon Lorgat as saying on Monday: "This will be the longest tour that we have undertaken to India and the first time we will play a four-Test series. Both countries are now working to develop this into an icon series. Another first is that we will be playing our first T20 International match against India in India." Lorgat added that the two boards, BCCI and CSA will work towards the series between the two nations as "an iconic one".
The tour could also mark their captain AB de Villiers's 100th Test, which incidentally could be in Bengaluru, the city he represents in the IPL.
Here is the Matches Schedule:
Sept 29: T20 tour game, Delhi
Oct 2: 1st T20I, Dharamsala
Oct 5: 2nd T20I, Cuttack
Oct 8: 3rd T20I, Kolkata
Oct 11, 1st ODI, Kanpur (D)
Oct 14: 2nd ODI, Indore (D/N)
Oct 18: 3rd ODI, Rajkot (D/N)
Oct 22: 4th ODI, Chennai (D/N)
Oct 25: 5th ODI, Mumbai (D/N)
Oct 26-Oct 27: Team building session, Goa
Oct 30-Oct 31, 2-day tour game v Board President's XI, Mumbai
Nov 5-Nov 9, 1st Test, Mohali
Nov 14-Nov 18: 2nd Test, Bengaluru
Nov 25-Nov 29: 3rd Test, Nagpur
Dec 3-Dec 7: 4th Test, Delhi
