South Africa captain Dean Elgar won the toss and elected to bat first against India in the must-win second and last Test of the two-match series here at Newlands on Wednesday.
The hosts have taken an unassailable 1-0 lead in the series after a massive win in the first match.
In an attempt to give the star opener Dean Elgar the ideal send-off, Proteas are anticipated to be up for the struggle against India in Newlands. Elgar will captain the team in the final match of his international career, after announcing his intention to retire before the series.
Meanwhile, having been destroyed in the opening Test in Centurion by an innings and 32 runs on Day 3, visitors will look to level the two-match series in Cape Town.
Team India included Ravindra Jadeja in their Playing XI and benched off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. Visitors also named Mukesh Kumar in the place of Shardul Thakur. On the other hand, South Africa handed over the debut cap to Tristan Stubbs, who replaced Temba Bavuma. Lungi Ngidi and Keshav Maharaj have also been included in the Playing XI.
Speaking at the time of toss Elgar said, “Going to bat. The pitch looks interesting. We’re in a great position. Can’t win a two-match series if you don’t win the first – we’ve crossed that hurdle. The scoreboard starts on nought. We all know that. Starting well is going to be key against this Indian side. Got a debutant in Tristan Stubbs coming in for Temba. Ngidi comes in for Coetzee who’s also injured. And Maharaj comes in.”
India skipper Rohit Sharma said, “Would’ve batted first as well. Looks like a good pitch. We understand the challenge of batting first on that pitch, but nevertheless, there will be enough in the pitch for the seamers, so hopefully we’ll cash in on it. Important to forget what’s happened in the past. We understand the importance of getting runs on the board and getting 20 wickets. Didn’t happen in the first game but we’re upbeat about what we can achieve here. Two changes. Jadeja comes back for Ashwin. Shardul misses out, Mukesh Kumar replaces him.”
South Africa (Playing XI): Dean Elgar(c), Aiden Markram, Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne(w), Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Nandre Burger and Lungi Ngidi.
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Mukesh Kumar.
