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India vs South Africa LIVE Cricket Score, 2nd Test Day 1: India are all set to play South Africa in the last Test of the two-match series at Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. This match is very important for India because they lost the first Test in Kolkata by 30 runs. If India don’t win this game, they will lose the series and South Africa will get their first series win in India after 25 years.
The Proteas have already registered a record after their win in the opening Test as it was their first red-ball victory on Indian soil in 15 years. The world champions will look to carry their momentum into the second game in Guwahati, which is hosting a Test match for the first time.
Rishabh Pant to lead India
Shubman Gill has been ruled out because of a neck injury, so his deputy Rishabh Pant will be the captain for the match. Nitish Kumar Reddy or Sai Sudharsan are expected to replace Gill in the Indian playing XI. On the South African side, Kagiso Rabada is injured and will miss the game.
How will the pitch behave?
All eyes will be on the pitch, which has created a lot of intrigue, especially given what happened in the first game. The opening Test in Kolkata ended in just three days, raising a lot of questions around India’s obsession with playing on a turning track. Gautam Gambhir had defended the pitch last time around, blaming his batters for failing to apply themselves.
Meanwhile, there are reports that a red-soil surface will be used in Guwahati, which is expected to favour both fast-bowling and spin. But it is hard to say for sure, because pitches often behave in unexpected ways, as proved in Eden Gardens last week.
India vs South Africa: Full squads
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Rishabh Pant (c, wk), Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Axar Patel, Devdutt Padikkal, Akash Deep
South Africa: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Temba Bavuma (c), Tony de Zorzi, Dewald Brevis, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Corbin Bosch, Senuran Muthusamy, Zubayr Hamza, Wiaan Mulder
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