India have included B Sai Sudharsan and Nitish Kumar Reddy, while South Africa have brought in Senuran Muthusamy in place of Corbin Bosch as the latter elected to bat first in the second Test at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium on Saturday.  A win in Guwahati will help India level the series and avoid their second Test series loss at home in two years. South Africa, the reigning World Test Championship winners, are chasing their first Test series win in India since the Hansie Cronje-led side won here in 2000.

Guwahati is making its debut as a Test cricket venue and South Africa captain Temba Bavuma said he was glad to be a part of this historic moment, apart from bringing an extra spinner in Muthusamy.

“We’ve got to start afresh. Today is another day. The boys are looking forward to it. Wicket looks a lot better. All fundamentals stay the same. Bat first, try to get a big score first up and then play the game from there.”

“The pitch looks a lot more consistent (in grass covering), no cracks really. Probably expected to play well the first two days. Very excited, we know the Indian faithful always come out and play their part. Happy to be a part of this historic moment, being the first Test. Hopefully, we can keep the historic moments going in our favour,” he said.

For India, Rishabh Pant has stepped into the leadership role and became the side’s 38th Test captain. He’s also the second keeper-batter after MS Dhoni to lead India in Tests. Incidentally, Pant gets his first Test as India’s captain at the venue where he made his ODI debut in 2018. While Sai is brought in place of Shubman Gill, who’s out due to a neck injury sustained in the Kolkata Test, Nitish comes in for Axar Patel.

“Definitely a proud moment. As a cricketer, you always aspire to lead your country and I’m thankful to the BCCI for giving me this opportunity. Didn’t think about it, but at the same time, you want to grab it with both hands and do the best for the team. The environment is like focus on yourself.”

“Look at the area where we can improve as a team and just come together and fight each and every moment. We feel the wicket is good for batting. But at the same time, bowling first is not a bad option either. Shubman is getting well slowly, slowly. He was very eager to play the match. But at the same time, his body didn’t allow it. He’s going to come back stronger,” he said.

Playing XIs

India: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel, Rishabh Pant (captain & wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Siraj

South Africa: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma (captain), Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne (wicketkeeper), Marco Jansen, Senuran Muthusamy, Simon Harmer, and Keshav Maharaj