IND vs SA 1st Test: South Africa Wins Toss, Chooses To Bat First In Kolkata Clash

India and South Africa all set for their first Test match of this series in Kolkata at the Eden Gardens. The Toss has been conducted, and here's how the play will start off.

Shubman Gill leads India against Temba Bavuma's South Africa

Source : PTI

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India and South Africa are set to lock horns in the first of a two-match Test series. This contest is being held at the iconic Eden Gardens stadium in Kolkata.
Temba Bavuma, captain of South Africa, has won the coin toss, and elected to bat first.

IND vs SA 1st Test: Playing XIs 

Here's a look at the players who will be in action for India and South Africa in this clash at the Eden Gardens:

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

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 vs South Africa: WTC Dynamics In Play

Although the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final is well away at this point, it is still critical to maintain a high winning percentage as that is what dictates a team's position on the table.

India and South Africa are placed very closely at the moment, the former sitting just above the latter by a relatively small difference, standing third and fourth. Therefore, a victory is in this clash (and even more so the series) has significant importance.

The home side can be considered to have an upper hand, coming in with a dominating 2-0 clean sweep against West Indies, whereas the Proteas managed to draw a series in Pakistan in their last Test outing.

Having said that, it is worth noting that South Africa A did just beat India A in an unofficial Test, chasing a 400+ score against many senior Indian bowlers. 

Needless to say, all these dynamics make for a very interesting clash up ahead. 

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