India vs South Africa | Faf du Plessis | Graeme Smith
Temba Bavuma (2nd from left) joins Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli as proxy. Credit: BCCI

The ongoing third Test between India and South Africa in Ranchi started on an interesting note. As many as three captains came out for the toss with one of them being a proxy captain. Having lost both the tosses in the series so far, South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis brought Temba Bavuma with himself at the toss.

However, the use of ‘proxy captain’ did not work as Bavuma lost the toss, leaving India captain Virat Kohli in split. Faf du Plessis has now lost seven consecutive tosses in Tests away from home. On the other hand, South Africa have now lost ten in a row in Tests that they have played in Asia.

“It shows that it isn’t meant to be (about using Bavuma as a proxy skipper for luck). Important toss as this looks the driest surface of the series. It’s about the first innings really and we need to put runs on the board when we bat. One forced change with Aiden (Markram),” said Faf du Plessis after Bavuma lost the toss.

But amidst all this, former India spinner Murali Kartik, who was the presenter at the toss, ended up making things messy. While Bavuma called head when Kohli tossed the coin, Murali Kartik surprisingly announced that the Proteas star said tails.

Read More  Suryakumar Yadav ruled out of IPL 2024 entirely? BCCI's fresh update stuns Hardik Pandya and Co

“Tails is the call and tails it is,” said Murali Kartik before giving a sheepish smile.

Here is a clip of that incident: 

 

India, meanwhile, are in a precarious position in the game. The hosts were reeling at 71 for 3 at lunch with Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane in the middle. Kagiso Rabada came out all guns blazing with the ball to dismiss Mayank Agarwal and Cheteshwar Pujara before Nortje accounted for Kohli.

Also Read: Gautam Gambhir Hopes Sourav Ganguly Gets More Than 10 Months In BCCI President Role