South Africa captain Temba Bavuma won the toss and elected to bat first against India in the first Test at the Eden Gardens. India have included four spinners in the Playing XI. Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav are part of the group. Kagiso Rabada has been ruled out due to an injury.
Toss Decision – Captain’s Comments & Reasoning
“We will bat first. We need to carry the momentum we built in Pakistan forward. We have prepared well for the series. It is exciting to play in front of 50,000 to 60,000 people. It is my first Test after the WTC final, and nothing has changed for us. The pitch is on the dry side and does not have a lot of grass. It is a typical Indian wicket, and it is important to put runs on the board,” Temba Bavuma said.
Shubman Gill was frustrated after losing yet another toss.
“Hopefully, I will win the toss in the WTC final. It is a good surface, and it will have something for the fast bowlers in the initial hours, and hopefully, we take advantage of it. The boys are hungry and want to perform. These two matches are crucial for us. It will be a good surface for the first three days and then will help the spinners,” Shubman Gill said.
Playing XIs
India XI: 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Washington Sundar, 4 Shubman Gill (capt), 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Dhruv Jurel, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Mohammed Siraj
South Africa XI: 1 Aiden Markram, 2 Ryan Rickelton, 3 Wiaan Mulder, 4 Temba Bavuma (capt), 5 Tony de Zorzi, 6 Tristan Stubbs, 7 Kyle Verreynne (wk), 8 Marco Jansen, 9 Corbin Bosch, 10 Simon Harmer, 11 Keshav Maharaj
Toss Result Today India vs South Africa 1st Test
Q1: Who won the toss today in India vs South Africa 1st Test?
South Africa won the toss and chose to bat first.
Q2: What was the toss time today?
The toss was held at 9:00 am IST.
Q3: Why did the captain choose to bowl first?
Temba Bavuma wants to take advantage of the good batting conditions as the pitch will help the spinners as the match progresses.
Q4: Where is today’s match being played?
Eden Gardens, Kolkata