South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis was not kidding when he said that he will send someone else to the toss for the third Test in Ranchi.
As the skippers gathered for the toss at the JSCA International Stadium Complex, Temba Bavuma, the Protea vice-captain, also made his way into the pitch and was ready to call in place of Faf as the proxy captain.
However, luck was not on his side either, as the coin once again landed in favour of the India captain Virat Kohli.
And the Indian captain couldn't suppress a laugh as he won the toss for the third consecutive time in the series.
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Faf's record in Tests now went from bad to worse in the last seven Tests as he lost the last six while Bavuma called wrong in Ranchi.
Winning the toss, India once again opted to bat on a dry turf in Ranchi. With the ball expected to turn and cracks opening up, India handed a Test debut to local boy Shahbaz Nadeem in place of Ishant Sharma.
Nadeem replaced Kuldeep Yadav in the squad after the latter opted out because of an injury. The 30-year-old became the 296th player to reprsent India in Test cricket.
South Africa, on the other hand, made wholesale changes. Heinrich Klaasen and George Lindte were handed debuts while Lungi Ngidi, Zubayr Hamza, and Dane Piedt were also drafted in.
They replaced injured opener Aiden Markram and Keshav Maharaj, who are injured while they have left out Vernon Philander, Theunis de Bruyn and Senuran Muthusamy.
India have an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series and a win here, will give the hosts 40 more points in the World Test Championship.
Teams:
India: Virat Kohli (C), Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Shahbaz Nadeem, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami.
South Africa: Faf du Plessis (C), Dean Elgar, Quinton de Kock, Zubayr Hamza, Temba Bavuma, Heinrich Klaasen (WK), George Linde, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi.
