Rishabh Pant is leading India in the IND vs SA 2nd Test! Shubman Gill’s neck injury forced this change. Pant becomes the 38th player to captain India in Test cricket.
This marks Pant’s first match as captain ever. The wicketkeeper-batter was already the red-ball deputy before this. Now he gets his chance to lead from the front.
India badly needs to win this Guwahati Test to square the series. They lost the first match by 30 runs after collapsing for just 93 runs. That was bad honestly.
IND vs SA Playing XI
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Washington Sundar, Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel, Rishabh Pant (C & WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
South Africa: Ryan Rickelton, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma (C), Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne (WK), Marco Jansen, Senuran Muthusamy, Simon Harmer, Keshav Maharaj
Changes in IND vs SA 2nd Test Playing 11
India made two big changes to their team for this match. Sai Sudharsan replaces the injured Shubman Gill in the batting order. He has five Test matches of experience. He mostly bats at number three.
Nitish Kumar Reddy comes in for Axar Patel. This gives India extra all-round options down the order. The team management wants more batting depth this time.
South Africa also tweaked their playing 11 slightly. Senuran Muthusamy replaced Corbin Bosch to strengthen their all-rounder balance. Temba Bavuma won the toss and chose to bat first.
Can India’s Middle Order Deliver?
Rishabh Pant carries a huge responsibility in this India vs South Africa Test now. He’s the most experienced batter in India’s top five currently. With Gill out, Pant must anchor the innings properly.
The batting lineup disappointed everyone in the previous match. India needs their top four to fire together this time. If they click, posting big scores becomes much easier.
India has decent depth in their current playing 11 structure. Two wicketkeepers in Pant and Jurel provide options. Plus three all-rounders in Sundar, Jadeja and Nitish add balance.
This match at Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati is historic. It’s the venue’s first-ever Test match. India must avoid their second home series loss.
The pressure is entirely on India now. Winning this 2nd Test is the only option left.
