SA vs IND, 1st Test: Hosts Bat First, Jasprit Bumrah Debuts

South Africa won the toss and decided to bat first in the first of the three Tests at Newlands, Cape Town.

The hosts have left out Temba Bavuma from their playing eleven while the visitors have handed debut to fast-bowler Jasprit Bumrah. Dale Steyn has also returned to the Test side for the hosts and will be playing his first Test since injuring his shoulder during the tour of Australia in 2016.

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Here is what the captains said:

Faf du Plessis:

“We will have a bit. The wicket is slow and it will get better to bat on as the day wears on. I don’t look too much into stats. The conditions have changed over the last two years. When we played Sri Lanka here it was slow initially and then it quickened up nicely. We are playing four seamers and a spinner which means one less batsman. Temba Bavuma misses out.”

Virat Kohli:

“Looking at the amount of the grass on the wicket and the surface being not that hard, looking at our bowlers’ strength, I think we would have bowled first given ourselves a good crack with the new ball which is because they are playing one batter less. So, we wanted to exploit their batting order unsettle them in the first 15-20 overs with the new ball. We will have three quicks and Hardik Pandya as the all-rounder. Ashwin is the lone spinner.

“Jasprit Bumarh is making his Test debut. He has come a long way and he has done really well in the limited overs cricket. He is bowling a really heavy ball and he is been the most impressive seamer here in our preparations. We are very excited to have him start his Test career today and wish him all the best. Our last big tour outside India was Australia and we won a series in Sri Lanka as well.”

Preview:

The Test will finally bring a long wait to the series between the top two teams on the ICC rankings. The series has been tipped to be a blockbuster not only because of the two heavyweights fighting it out but also because it is the first series between the two celebrated rivals since India thrashed South Africa 3-0 in “extreme conditions” at home in 2015. Speculations are rife that the hosts would prepare bouncy and pacy tracks to avenge their loss a couple of years ago.

With both the sides being in good form, both of them would be keen to start the series on a strong note. South Africa is entering the game on the back a thumping win over Zimbabwe while India have arrived in the African nation after registering nine consecutive series wins. The visitors are yet to win a series in the rainbow nation and will be looking to make the most of starting the tour on the least lively pitch.

Here are the playing eleven of both the teams:

South Africa XI:

Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis(c), Quinton de Kock(w), Vernon Philander, Keshav Maharaj, Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel

India XI:

Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.