India vs South Africa, 3rd Test: India Opt to Bat, Shahbaz Nadeem Makes Debut

India have opted to bat first in the third and final Test of the three-match series making one change to the side.

India captain Virat Kohli won the toss and opted to bat first in the third and final Test of the ongoing three-match series in Ranchi on Saturday. With victories from the first two matches in Vizag and Pune, world’s top-ranked Test team India have already taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.

South Africa captain Faf du Plessis brought a proxy, Temba Mavuma, for the coin toss but the lady luck continues to desert him as he lost a 10th straight toss in Asia.  India made one change to their playing XI from the second Test – pacer Ishant Sharma has been rested and in his place comes in Jharkhand left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem who makes his India debut meaning the hosts have gone in with a three-pronged spin attack and two pacers in Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav.

On the other hand, South Africa have made plenty of changes, a couple of them forced others tactical. While Aiden Markram and Keshav Maharaj are injured, Vernon Philander, Theunis de Bruyn and Senuran Muthusamy have been dropped. In their place, the tourists have included Zubayr Hamza, Heinrich Klaasen, George Linde, Lungi Ngidi and Dane Piedt.

Playing XIs

South Africa: Dean Elgar, Quinton de Kock, Zubayr Hamza, Faf du Plessis (captain), Temba Bavuma, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), George Linde, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi

India: Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Shahbaz Nadeem, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami