A keen contest is anticipated between two evenly-matched sides when India and South Africa don the whites to begin the two-Test 'Friendship Series' on Tuesday, but the forecast and clouds hanging over the SuperSport Park in Centurion threaten to majorly affect proceedings on the Boxing Day.
On Monday, the outdoor training sessions for both the teams had to be called off because of rain, while the pitch and the square remained under covers.
The Centurion forecast for Tuesday on Accuweather at the time of this report read "mainly cloudy with occasional rain and a thunderstorm" with 7.7 mm rain forecast in the morning and 6.6 mm in the afternoon, and 65% or more cloud cover through the day, which is expected to increase to 96% towards the evening.
Considered 'final frontier' because India have yet to win a Test series in South Africa, the assignment also holds signficance as part of the World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.
For India, it's their second series in the WTC cycle while for the Proteas it's their campaign opener.
Led by Rohit Sharma, India are currently on top of the WTC leaderboard -- thanks to the team's 2-0 win over West Indies and Pakistan's defeat in the first Test against Australia.
