South Africa captain Temba Bavuma won the toss and elected to bat first in the opening Test against India at Eden Gardens on Friday. Bavuma said the visitors are backing themselves to post a strong first-innings total, pointing to a dry surface where “runs in the first innings will be the key.” Kagiso Rabada, however, misses out, with Corbin Bosch coming into the XI.
India made two significant changes, with Rishabh Pant returning to the Test side and Axar Patel also coming back into the playing XI. Captain Shubman Gill said the surface looked good for batting but expected early assistance for fast bowlers. “This bunch is very hungry. This Test series is very important. There’ll be some turn as the game goes on,” Gill said. Pant replaces Nitish Reddy, who has been released for India A duties.
India Playing XI
Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Washington Sundar, Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (w), Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
South Africa Playing XI
Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Tony de Zorzi, Temba Bavuma (c), Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne, Senuran Muthusamy, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Corbin Bosch
South Africa enter fresh off their Pakistan tour, while India seek crucial WTC points in their first red-ball match at Eden Gardens since 2019.
