India vs South Africa 2019, 1st Test - Toss Report

Brimming with confidence, Team India will be eyeing a solid start to the Test series when they take on South Africa in the first Test. The Virat Kohli-led side blew away West Indies in their previous Test assignment and are firm favourites to beat the Proteas. India have never lost a Test series at home under Kohli and will be eyeing to further extend that run.

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South Africa will have their task cut out against the formidable hosts. The last time the Proteas played a Test series in India, they were thrashed 3-0. And if the tourists do not play spin well, they can lose this series too. The series will kick-start South Africa’s campaign in the ICC World Test Championship and they could not have asked for a tougher assignment.

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— BCCI (@BCCI) September 30, 2019

India, nonetheless, are at the top of the ICC Test Championship after taking all the 120 points on offer against West Indies. With form on their side, the hosts will look to further bolster their position at the top.

Pitch report (Murali Kartik and Sunil Gavaskar):

“No grass on it. On day 1, it should be a good surface to bat on. There are these cracks which will open up. Those areas will chip away as more and more deliveries land on them. Batting won’t be easy on the evening of day 3. There will be more in it for the spinners from day 2 once the sun comes out. Any captain winning the toss will want to bat first.”

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— BCCI (@BCCI) October 2, 2019

Toss report: 

India skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and decided to bat first at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium,Visakhapatnam.

Here is what the captains said:

Virat Kohli:

“No brainer, going to bat. Looks a good wicket. Will play well for the first couple of days. Nature of the pitch is that it’ll get slower after that. Great opportunity for Rohit at the top of the order. He’s excited to get the role clarity. It’s a new opportunity for him. According to me, Saha is the best keeper in the world. We were waiting for the right moment to bring him back. They had more experienced players back then. It’s going to be a hard grind for sure.”

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Faf du Plessis:

“Pretty obvious, quite a dry pitch. Our coin toss record in the subcontinent isn’t the best. First innings is going to be very important. We’ve lost a few Test players, even in the last year or so. Fresh start for a lot of new faces. Very young group. Nice challenge for us. These guys will be the next Dale Steyns and the next Hashim Amla. Good to be at the start of the journey for them, have to try and play a mentorship role to get them through. The dryness of the surface, we’ve gone in with two seamers, one all-rounder, and three spinners.”

Playing XIs:

India:

Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Wriddhiman Saha(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami

South Africa:

Aiden Markram, Dean Elgar, Theunis de Bruyn, Temba Bavuma, Faf du Plessis(c), Quinton de Kock(w), Vernon Philander, Senuran Muthusamy, Keshav Maharaj, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada