South Africa wins toss, bats in 2nd test against India

By AP
Published

CENTURION, South Africa (AP) South Africa captain Faf du Plessis won the toss and chose to bat first in the second test against India at SuperSport Park on Saturday.

South Africa made one enforced change to its lineup after winning the first test in Cape Town for an early lead in the three-match series. Fast bowler Lungi Ngidi was picked to make his test debut in place of injured paceman Dale Steyn.

India made three changes to its team in an effort to get back into the series. Opening batsman KL Rahul was in for Shikhar Dhawan, wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel in for Wriddhiman Saha, and seam bowler Ishant Sharma for Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Initial signs were that the pitch at Centurion wouldn't be as difficult to bat on as the seam-friendly track in Cape Town where South Africa's 286 in the first innings was the highest total of the match. South Africa won the series opener by 72 runs.

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Lineups:

South Africa: Faf du Plessis (captain), Aiden Markram, Dean Elgar, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Quinton de Kock, Vernon Philander, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Morne Morkel.

India: Virat Kohli (captain), Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma, Parthiv Patel, Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.