Second Test: India Makes Two Changes Against South Africa; Pant Takes Charge as Gill and Axar Miss Out

Guwahati (The Uttam Hindu): South Africa won the toss and chose to bat in the second Test being played at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. In the absence of Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant is leading Team India in this match. India entered the game with two changes, Sai Sudharsan and Nitish Kumar Reddy have replaced Shubman Gill and Axar Patel. South Africa also made one change, bringing in Senuran Muthusamy in place of Corbin Bosch.

Gill was injured while batting during the Kolkata Test, which forced him to miss the second match. With his absence, Pant has been handed the captaincy, becoming India’s 38th Test captain. He is also the second wicketkeeper after MS Dhoni to lead the Indian Test team. India lost the first Test in Kolkata by a narrow margin of 30 runs. South Africa scored 159 in their first innings, while India made 189, giving them a 30-run lead.

In their second innings, South Africa posted 153, setting India a target of 124 runs. However, India collapsed for just 93. India will look to win the second Test and level the series 1–1, while South Africa aims for a 2–0 clean sweep.

India Playing XI:

KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel, Rishabh Pant (Captain/Wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.

South Africa Playing XI:

Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma (Captain), Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne (Wicketkeeper), Marco Jansen, Senuran Muthusamy, Simon Harmer, Keshav Maharaj.