India vs South Africa LIVE Score, 1st Test Day 1: South Africa opt to bat; Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel return to playing XI – livemint.com

IND vs SA 1st Test Day 1 LIVE Score: India were sent to bowl first after South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma won the toss in the opening Test at the Edens Garden in Kolkata 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 South Africa, premier pacer Kagiso Rabada missed out due to a rib injury with Corbin Bosch replacing him. Notably, Test cricket returned to the Mecca of Indian cricket after six long years. The last Test played in Kolkata was India vs Bangladesh pink-ball Test in 2019.
Star Sports is the official broadcaster of India vs South Africa Test series. The India vs South Africa 1st Test will be telecast live on Star Sports channels from 9:30 AM IST on Friday (November 14). Live streaming of India vs South Africa first Test will be available on JioStar app and website.
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.
Former India captain Anil Kumble rings the Eden bell as players of both sides walk down in the middle. Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton will open the attack for South Africa. Jasprit Bumrah has the ball in hand for India.
Shubman Gill and Temba Bavuma walk down to the middle for the toss. The toss will happen with a specially minted coin. South Africa win the toss and opt to bat first. Another toss loss for Shubman. Kagiso Rabada misses out due to a rib injury. Rishabh Pant is back in place of Nitish Kumar Reddy. Axar Patel returns too.
There will be some carry for the pacers with the new ball. The pitch is dry and has not been watered much. The speedsters will have some reverse swing in the first two days before it starts assisting the spinners.
Fans gather in huge numbers at Eden Gardens as Test cricket returns to Kolkata after six years.
The pitch at Eden Gardens has always been a talking point, especially in the past over year. Ahead of the first Test, the pitch was the point of discussion once again as Shubman Gill and Gautam Gambhir spent a long time having a discussion with curator Sujan Mukherjee. While Gill looked a bit concerned with the pitch over the past two days, Gambhir wore a smiling look as he walked back. How will it behave? Just wait and watch.
South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad has shared his thoughts on playing a Test match at the Eden Gardens and the significance it holds.
There was a selection dilemma between Rishabh Pant and Dhruv Jurel on who should play in the playing XI. With Pant being the vice-captain, the question was, will Jurel also make the XI? India assistant coach Ryan Ten Doeschate confirmed that both will play.
Star Sports is the official broadcaster of India vs South Africa Test series. The India vs South Africa 1st Test will be telecast live on Star Sports channels from 9:30 AM IST on Friday (November 14). Live streaming of India vs South Africa first Test will be available on JioStar app and website.
Shubman Gill was a part of the Indian squad against Bangladesh in 2019, but didn’t get a chance to play. Technically, this will be Gill’s first Test match at this iconic venue.
The last time Eden Gardens hosted a Test matches was in 2019 when India defeated Bangladesh in a pink-ball Test match. It was the inaugural pink ball Test in India.
India are coming after beating West Indies 2-0 at home while the Proteas drew Pakistan 1-1 in their first series of WTC 2025-27 cycle.
Hello and welcome to the live coverage of the first Test between India and South Africa from the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
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