India vs South Africa, 2nd Test: India win toss, opt to bat first

After thrashing South Africa by 203 runs in the opening Test, Virat Kohli and co will aim to clinch the series when they face Faf du Plessis-led outfit in the second Test.

Pune: Indian skipper Virat Kohli opted to bat first after winning the toss in the second Test match of three-match Test series against South Africa, starting on Thursday.

The second match between India and South Africa is being played at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.

After thrashing South Africa by 203 runs in the opening Test, Virat Kohli and co will aim to clinch the series when they face Faf du Plessis-led outfit in the second Test.

Meanwhile, South Africa will aim to level the series by winning this match to take the series to the decider.

After winning the toss, Indian skipper Virat Kohli said, "We're batting first. Looks like a hard wicket. Runs on the board and on this surface, the ball will eventually turn here on Day 2 and 3, so Day 1 will be the best time to bat."

Kohli further said, "The players were putting pressure on me to win the toss. With the grass on the pitch and the reverse option on this track, we needed a new seam option. Vihari misses out unfortunately and Umesh Yadav comes into the side."

South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis at the toss said, "There is a bit of grass on this morning, but I was asking Virat to teach me the sleight of hand trick to win tosses in India. We're bringing in Nortje for Piedt, so just a bit of extra pace here. That first innings was positive, that showed that we could score big even in India. A Test debut for any player is a special thing."

Teams:

South Africa (Playing XI):Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Theunis de Bruyn, Temba Bavuma, Faf du Plessis(c), Quinton de Kock(w), Senuran Muthusamy, Vernon Philander, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje

India (Playing XI):Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami