Kolkata: South Africa captain Temba Bavuma won the toss and opted to bat first against India in the opening Test at Eden Gardens on Friday.
India made two changes, bringing back a fully fit Rishabh Pant—who returned after his injury in England in July—in place of all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy. Axar Patel also returned to the XI, replacing Sai Sudharsan as India went in with a four-spinner attack.
For South Africa, pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada was ruled out with a rib injury, with Corbin Bosch drafted in as his replacement.
Teams
South Africa: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma (c), Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne (w), Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Washington Sundar, Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (w), Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
