India's captain Shubman Gill and South Africa�s captain Temba Bavuma pose with the series trophy before the start of the first Test cricket match between India and South Africa, at the Eden Gardens, in Kolkata, Friday, Nov. 14, 2025 (PTI)  
Sports

SA opt to bat, India pick four spinners including Axar

A fit-again Rishabh Pant, who had suffered an injury in England in July, replaced all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy,

PTI

KOLKATA: South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma won the toss and elected to bat against India in the opening Test at the Edens Garden here on Friday.

A fit-again Rishabh Pant, who had suffered an injury in England in July, replaced all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, while Axar Patel was back in side in place of Sai Sudharsan in the playing XI as India opted to go with four spinners.

For SA, premier pacer Kagiso Rabada missed out due to a rib injury with Corbin Bosch replacing him.

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.

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