New beginnings are usually occasions for grand celebrations and joy. As Guwahati’s ACA Stadium gets ready to take its place on the Test cricket map by hosting the second and final India-South Africa Test starting here on Saturday, it will be a landmark moment, for it will be the first time cricket’s oldest format makes its presence in the North-East of the country.
While the journey into the unknown can often be liberating and exciting, India, trailing 0-1 after the crushing loss in Kolkata, will enter the contest with some trepidation. Under a new captain, Rishabh Pant, who is standing in for the injured Shubman Gill, the last thing the home side would want is to add more variables to the equation. And there are quite a few in this match.
In testing times, familiarity can be a great source of comfort, yet India won’t have the luxury of having prior knowledge of the conditions. For starters, only pacer Mohammed Siraj from this roster has experience of playing a First Class game at this venue, and it was nine years ago.
Given the early sunrise and sunset times in this part of the country, play will begin at 9 a.m., 30 minutes earlier than usual. The chilly winter-morning conditions and moisture on the pitch could play into the hands of Kagiso Rabada-less Proteas’ pace attack, shrinking the gap between the sides.
Also, it might be challenging to get 90 overs every day because of early sunset, and as the team that needs to win, India wouldn’t want any time lost owing to lack of light.
The absence of Gill has meant there will be one or two forced changes to the XI, with B. Sai Sudharsan likely to replace the former. It will be interesting to see if the Tamil Nadu batter slots in back at one-drop ahead of Washington Sundar, who did the job in the previous match, or slides down to the middle-order.
After all the hullabaloo surrounding the 22-yard strip at the Eden Gardens, the pitch here might be more kind to the batters, possessing predictable bounce and thus presenting the chance of a fair contest between bat and ball.
The red-soil surface sported a bit of grass on match-eve and that could tempt India to bring in Nitish Kumar for one of Axar Patel or Kuldeep Yadav. More importantly, it will ensure there is at least a third frontline right-hand batter in a left-hand heavy line-up.
The visitors, riding high after its first Test win in India in 15 years, has a great chance of pulling off a historic series win. The reigning World Test champion, though, will know that it won’t come easy and will need its batters to take a lesson or two from skipper Temba Bavuma’s masterful knock in Kolkata.
In a place where dawn breaks early, India will chase sunrise in its bid to ensure that its formidable home record, built assiduously over a decade, doesn’t fall for the second time in one year.
The teams (from): India: Rishabh Pant (Capt. & wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, K.L. Rahul, B. Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep and Kuldeep Yadav.
South Africa: Temba Bavuma (Capt.), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Tony de Zorzi, Zubayr Hamza, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickleton (wk), Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne (wk) and Lungi Ngidi.
Match officials: On-field umpires: Rod Tucker, Richard Kettleborough; Third umpire: Chris Gaffaney; Fourth umpire: Rohan Pandit; Match referee: Richie Richardson.
Match starts at 9 a.m.
Published – November 21, 2025 08:58 pm IST
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