Visakhapatnam: Indian skipper Virat Kohli opted to bat first after winning the toss in the first Test match of three-match Test series against South Africa, starting on Wednesday.
The opening match of the Test series is being played at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium.
With South Africa's tour to India, Virat Kohli and boys have kick-started the home leg of the ongoing World Test championship.
After winning the toss, Indian skipper Virat Kohli said: "No brainer, going to bat. Looks a good wicket. Will play well for the first couple of days. Nature of the pitch is that it'll get slower after that. Great opportunity for Rohit at the top of the order. He's excited to get the role clarity. It's a new opportunity for him."
Heaping praises on Saha, Kohli said: "According to me, Saha is the best keeper in the world. We were waiting for the right moment to bring him back. They had more experienced players back then. It's going to be a hard grind for sure."
South African skipper Faf du Plessis at the toss said: "Pretty obvious, quite a dry pitch. Our coin toss record in the subcontinent isn't the best. First innings is going to be very important. We've lost a few Test players, even in the last year or so. Fresh start for a lot of new faces. Very young group."
Du Plessis further said, "Nice challenge for us. These guys will be the next Dale Steyns and the next Hashim Amlas. Good to be at the start of the journey for them, have to try and play a mentorship role to get them through. The dryness of the surface, we've gone in with two seamers, one all-rounder, and three spinners."
Squads:
India (Playing 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
South Africa (Playing 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
