South Africa captain Temba Bavuma won the toss and chose to bat first against India in the second and final Test at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati.
Rishabh Pant, leading India for the first time as the country’s 38th Test captain, remained upbeat despite losing the toss, saying his team was comfortable starting with the ball.
With regular skipper Shubman Gill unavailable, India handed Nitish Kumar Reddy a place in the Playing XI, while Axar Patel made way for Sai Sudharsan. For South Africa, Corbin Bosch was left out, with Senuran Muthuswamy coming into the side.
Playing XIs
India (Playing XI): KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
South Africa (Playing XI): Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma(c), Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne(w), Marco Jansen, Senuran Muthusamy, Simon Harmer, Keshav Maharaj.
India skipper Rishabh Pant after losing the toss said: “Definitely a proud moment. As a cricketer, you always aspire to lead your country. And I’m thankful to the BCCI for giving me this opportunity. Didn’t think about it, but at the same time, you want to grab it with both hands and do the best for the team.
“The environment is like, focus on yourself, look at the area where we can improve as a team and just come together and fight each and every moment. We feel the wicket is good for batting. But at the same time, bowling first is not a bad option either. Shubman is getting well slowly, slowly. He was very eager to play the match. But at the same time, his body didn’t allow it. He’s going to come back stronger. Instead of Shubman, Nitish Reddy comes in. And for Axar, Sai Sudharsan comes in.”
