South Africa wins toss, elects to bat first in 1st Test at Kolkata

KOLKATA: South African captain Temba Bavuma won the toss and elected to bat first against India in the first Test of the two-match series at Kolkata’s iconic Eden Gardens on Friday.

This is India’s first Test at Eden Gardens since 2019. They are taking on a highly-motivated ICC World Test Champions South Africa, who are coming after a 1-1 draw against Pakistan at home recently, while India’s previous Test outing was a 2-0 win over West Indies at home.

During the toss, SA skipper Temba Bavuma said that he would be missing the match due to injury. All-rounder Corbin Bosch takes his place.

“We will have a bat. The boys came back from Pakistan. Preparation-wise, we have done as best as we can. Looking forward to the challenge. We need to keep doing what we do. The pitch looks dry, runs in the first innings will be the key. Kagiso misses out, Corbin comes in,” said Bavuma.

Gill said during the toss that Rishabh Pant and Axar Patel are back in the team, with Sai Sudharsan sitting out and Washington Sundar at number three.
“Looks like a good surface. There’s a bit in it for the fast bowlers. The dressing room is good. This bunch is very hungry. This Test series is very important. There will be some turn as the game goes on. Rishabh comes in for (Nitish Kumar) Reddy, and Axar is also back,” said Gi.

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South Africa (Playing XI): Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma(c), Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne(w), Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj

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. (ANI)