India Playing 11 for 2nd Test Against South Africa: New Captain to Lead

The final Test encounter between India and South Africa will start from November 22, in Guwahati. After losing the first game by 30 runs, the hosts have slipped in the World Test Championship (WTC) points table to the fourth position. This makes the upcoming match extremely crucial. India have many challenges in front of them, the first being skipper Shubman Gill’s injury.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have announced that Shubman Gill is ruled out of the second Test despite showing signs of improvement early on. Reports suggest that the 26-year-old cricketer was looking forward to playing the match, but the board didn’t allow it. Moreover, he is supposed to start his neck exercises from Thursday.

It has been confirmed that India’s vice-captain Rishabh Pant will lead IND playing 11 for 2nd Test against South Africa. Pant is one of the best wicketkeepers in the world and is playing his first series after the foot injury that happened during the England series back in August 2025. Following his injury, he missed out on playing in the final Test of that series.

Rishabh Pant To Lead in Final Test Against South Africa

India’s star keeper-batter, renowned for his fearless batting approach, Rishabh Pant, is set to lead the team in the final game against South Africa. Considering the importance of the match, the responsibility will be on Pant to manage the team well, including the bowling changes. Some of his decisions were heavily criticized in the first match, especially the one where he didn’t open the bowling by Jasprit Bumrah in the second innings.

The batters will also have to take equal responsibility and outplay the visitors, especially the spinners. Guwahati will host the second game, which is a new ground for both teams. Hence, predicting the pitch conditions before the match will be difficult.

Losing one more game from here would make India’s journey for the WTC Final even more difficult. Every session, every knock, and every spell will be important. Pant’s captaincy will be under the radar, which might also pressurize him. These are the things that will make the match interesting, and the viewers should not miss any moment of it.

India Playing 11 for 2nd Test Against South Africa (Predicted)

Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Rishabh Pant (c) (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Siraj.

South Africa Beat India by 30 Runs in 1st Test

After six long years, the Eden Gardens got an opportunity to host a Test match, but the pitch conditions came under scrutiny as the match didn't even last for three full days. The Eden Gardens, which is iconic and the oldest cricket stadium in India, usually produces sporting tracks but this wicket was completely different. In the match, South Africa outplayed India in the second innings, which cost the hosts.

Temba Bavuma’s half-century, Simon Harmer’s four-wicket hauls in both innings, and India’s failed batting performances were the highlights of the match. The Proteas scored 159 runs in the first innings and India took a 30-run lead. They scored 189 runs with one batter short. In the second innings, South Africa gave a target of only 124 runs, but India were bowled out for 93 runs. With the IND vs SA 2nd Test coming up, it will be interesting to see how the Men in Blue make a comeback.