India vs South Africa, 3rd Test – Toss Report and Playing XI

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India have won the toss and have opted to bat

Kohli: It’s a no-brainer to bat first on this one. I don’t think it’s gonna be slow but it will keep low. Should spin at a decent pace. As long as it turns with pace on the ball, we don’t mind the bounce. Just one change – Ishant has been given a break. Shahbaz Nadeem makes his debut. Unfortunately, Kuldeep couldn’t pull up. We checked on him yesterday but he didn’t respond well enough from his shoulder niggle. Nadeem is the local boy and it’s a dream debut. We’ll have to continue to work hard and look to win sessions of cricket. That’s the only message I look to pass on.

Faf: 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). Few other changes as well. Change in the batting order. Quinton will open the batting. Hopefully he can put pressure on the Indian bowlers, like what Rohit has done for India. Heinrich Klaasen comes in as the wicket-keeper. A new spinner in George Linde makes his Test debut. Two weeks ago he was 1000 miles away from playing Test cricket but that’s how quickly things happen. Lungi Ngidi also comes in. We’ve gone in with five bowlers to take the 20 wickets and hopefully we can. Starting in India is a tough challenge and all teams that have played here will vouch for it. We did compete well in the first game but it didn’t go our way last game. We’re ready for the fight.

India (Playing XI): Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Shahbaz Nadeem, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami

South Africa (Playing XI): Dean Elgar, Quinton de Kock, Zubayr Hamza, Faf du Plessis(c), Temba Bavuma, Heinrich Klaasen(w), George Linde, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi

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