Don’t write off champions: Nathan Lyon on Kohli’s recent batting slump
The Australian team must be hoping to take advantage of Virat Kohli’s prolonged batting slump when the two sides clash in the five-Test series for the Border-Gavaskar trophy
India skipper Virat Kohli on Saturday won the toss and decided to bat against South Africa in the final game of the three-match Test series at the JSCA Stadium in Ranchi.
Meanwhile, spinner Shahbaz Nadeem and George Linde make their debut in international cricket with their maiden Test caps.
With the series already in the bag, Team India will aim to clean sweep South Africa.
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Talking about the series so far, the hosts dismantled the guests with a 203-run victory in the first Test in Vizag. And in case that failed to suffice the cause, India bettered their performance in the next game, registering a comprehensive victory by an innings and 137 runs in Pune.
The series may have already been decided but the third Test cannot be called a dead rubber as 40 points are up for grabs in the World Test Championship (2019-21). India, having won the first two matches, are sitting on top of the table with 200 points, including 120 points from series against West Indies.
The pitch in Ranchi is expected to assist the spinners a little more which might have prompted Kohli to field an extra spinner (Shahbaz Nadeem) at the expense of a fast bowler (Ishant Sharma).
Here are the Playing XIs of both the teams:
India (Playing XI): Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha (Wicketkeeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Shahbaz Nadeem, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami
South Africa (Playing XI): Dean Elgar, Quinton de Kock, Zubayr Hamza, Faf du Plessis (Captain), Temba Bavuma, Heinrich Klaasen (Wicketkeeper), George Linde, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi
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