South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first against India in Saturday’s opening Test of a two-match series.
India, already without experienced batsmen Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh, suffered a further blow when Rohit Sharma, called up as cover for Vangipurappu Laxman, suffered an ankle injury at warm-up before the toss.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha was handed an unexpected debut by top-ranked India in the absence of both Laxman and Sharma.
Subramaniam Badrinath will make his Test debut in the middle order, while third opener Murali Vijay takes Dravid’s number three spot.
South Africa can reclaim the top test ranking from India if they win the series and have included Paul Harris as lone specialist spinner in a pace-oriented attack on what appears to be a flat pitch. – Reuters
Teams
India: Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Murali Vijay, Sachin Tendulkar, Subramaniam Badrinath, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Wriddhiman Saha.
South Africa: Graeme Smith (captain), Ashwell Prince, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Mark Boucher, Paul Harris, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel , Wayne Parnell.