Guwahati, November 22: South Africa won the toss and elected to bat in the second and final Test against India, handing Rishabh Pant an unsuccessful start as a Test captain at home. Pant, who walked out for his first toss since being named India’s 38th Test skipper, couldn’t alter India’s recent luck as Proteas captain Temba Bavuma chose to take first use of the pitch.
South Africa entered the match with a 1–0 lead and made just one tweak to their winning XI. Senuran Muthusamy, the left-arm spin-bowling allrounder, replaced seamer Corbin Bosch, giving the visitors an extra spin option on a surface expected to slow down as the game progresses. With Kagiso Rabada already unavailable, the responsibility of the pace attack again rested on Marco Jansen and Wiaan Mulder, who will bat lower in the order than usual.
India Forced to Reshuffle in Gill’s Absence
India’s selection committee faced a significantly tougher puzzle. With regular captain Shubman Gill ruled out, India were wary of stacking their XI with too many left-handers. The previous Test marked the first time India fielded six left-handed batters in a single match.
A direct replacement of Gill with B Sai Sudharsan would have added a seventh, prompting the team to bring in seam-bowling allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy. Reddy, who impressed with a century in Australia earlier, replaced Axar Patel, providing India with an additional right-handed option and some extra seam support.
Historic Day for Guwahati
The match also marked a special milestone as Guwahati hosted its first-ever Test, becoming India’s easternmost venue to do so. Due to early sunset in the region, the day’s play began at 9:00 AM IST to maximise available daylight.
Playing XIs
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, B Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel, Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
South Africa: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Tony de Zorzi, Temba Bavuma (capt), Kyle Verreynne (wk), Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Marco Jansen, Simon Harmer, Keshav Maharaj
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