09:13 (IST)
Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal’s pair will be India’s eighth opening pair since 2018 in Tests.
09:10 (IST)
South Africa XI: Aiden Markram, Dean Elgar, Theunis de Bruyn, Temba Bavuma, Faf du Plessis(c), Quinton de Kock(w), Vernon Philander, Senuran Muthusamy, Keshav Maharaj, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada
09:09 (IST)
India XI: Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Wriddhiman Saha(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami
09:08 (IST)
Faf du Plessis, SA captain: Our record in toss in subcontinent is not the best. We have gone with two spinners. This is the time to groom next Hashim Amla and next Dale Steyn.
09:05 (IST)
Virat Kohli, India captain: No brainer here. Saha in these conditions, is best keeper in the world. We were finding right moment to include him. They are a pretty strong side. We have to be at out best.
09:02 (IST)
Toss News: Virat Kohli wins toss and India will be batting first.
09:00 (IST)
The beautiful trophy for which the both teams are contesting!
Who's taking this one home? #TeamIndia or South Africa? #INDvSA @Paytm 🇮🇳🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/r2mQoFNnsH
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 2, 2019
08:58 (IST)
Sunil Gavaskar with the Pitch report: No grass on the pitch. Should be a good pitch to bat on Day 1. Cracks are there and with more deliveries pitched on it, and with sun out, the surface will come off. Batting won't be easy from Day 2. The ball is going to start gripping from Day 2. Bat first is no brainer.
08:55 (IST)
India have won each of their last 10 home Test series’ while South Africa have not won a Test in Asia since 2015.
08:55 (IST)
Stat Alert!
South Africa’s win percentage of 31.25 in India in Tests - the highest for any visiting team in India in Tests.
08:47 (IST)
If the Wednesday forecast for Visakhapatnam is to be trusted, the opening day of the first Test between India and South Africa might be played under steely skies and gloomy conditions. More on that in the full weather report.
08:40 (IST)
Sachin backs Ashwin
Another three months left in the year and Ravichandran Ashwin is yet to represent the country across any format in 2019! Rather surprising for a bowler who has been one of the most prolific wicket-takers for the Indian team of late, or so would the bowler himself think.
That, however, is set to change today, with the senior off-spinner getting named in the XI for the first Test against South Africa at Vizag. Here's Sachin Tendulkar talking about why Ashwin remains an integral part of the Indian team despite the uncertainty in his participation in recent years.
08:35 (IST)
The Indian team management decided to drop Rishabh Pant in first Test and give his place to Wriddhiman Saha. This move was debated on social media among the cricket fans. G Rajaraman feels Rishabh Pant is not the first youngster to be kept out of the Test XI. Nor will he be the last. He will have to take the move by the team management on his chin and get back to the drawing board so that he can resume the journey to becoming the best wicketkeeper-batsman in the country. Read more from him on Pant here.
08:23 (IST)
Here's a quick look at both the squads:
India's Test squad: Virat Kohli (capt), Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vc), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Shubman Gill
South Africa's Test squad: Faf du Plessis (capt), Temba Bavuma (vc), Theunis de Bruyn, Quinton de Kock (wk), Dean Elgar, Zubayr Hamza, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Senuran Muthusamy, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Vernon Philander, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Rudi Second
08:14 (IST)
India look to extend home hegemony, new era looms for Proteas cricket!
In India's last home season of this decade, Virat Kohli's men will look to extend their domination against a new-look South African side trying to usher in a new dawn in their cricketing landscape.
Read the full preview by Vaibhav Shah here.
08:01 (IST)
Hello and welcome to our LIVE coverage of Day one of the first Test between top-ranked India and South Africa, beginning Visakhapatnam. This will be the Proteas' inaugural Test series which is part of the newly-introduced ICC World Test Championship, whereas Virat Kohli and Co opened their campaign with a 2-0 series win over West Indies in August.
India vs South Africa, LIVE Cricket Score, Test Match, Day 1 at Visakhapatnam Latest Updates:
Preview: One-day big hitter Rohit Sharma will stake a claim to become India's first-choice opening Test batsman when they start a series against South Africa on Wednesday looking for a record-breaking win.
Victory in the three-match series would see India break the record of 10 straight home series wins they currently hold with Australia.
Much focus in the first Test in Visakhapatnam will be on the 32-year-old Sharma – a star of India's limited-overs teams as well as skipper of the Mumbai Indians who won this year's Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament.
Sharma has not been a Test regular, however. The last of his 27 Test caps since 2013 was in Australia last year.
He now has a new chance, replacing the out-of-form KL Rahul, as the opening positions remain a problem for India.
"He has worked so hard and if he gets an opportunity, I am sure he will do well," vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane said of Sharma.
"We all know the quality he has. He is simply special."
The new Sharma experiment has had a disastrous start, however -- he was dismissed for a duck on the second ball he faced in a practice game against the South Africans.
Natural runs
India batting great VVS Laxman said Sharma needs to stick to his natural flair while opening in the longer format.
"If you tweak your natural game too much, then you will not get the results as your mind gets cluttered and you tend to lose your rhythm," said Laxman, a middle-order batsman who was forced to open for India.
"I can admit that my flow was affected when I opened. Rohit is a rhythm-based player and if his touch gets affected, then it will be difficult."
Squads
India
Virat Kohli (capt), Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Shubman Gill
South Africa
Faf du Plessis (capt), Temba Bavuma, Theunis de Bruyn, Quinton de Kock, Dean Elgar, Zubayr Hamza, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Senuran Muthusamy, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Vernon Philander, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Rudi Second
With inputs from AFP
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