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South Africa vs India 2023-24 Cricket

'Sir replacing Lord' - Fans react as Ravindra Jadeja, Mukesh Kumar replace R Ashwin, Shardul Thakur in Playing XI for 2nd Test vs South Africa

With Prasidh Krishna retaining his place, India have decided to go with four frontline pacers, with the rest two being Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.

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Mathew K
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India (Source: Twitter)

India (Source: Twitter)

The second Test between South Africa and India are underway at Newlands, Cape Town on Wednesday, January 3. Defeated by an innings and 32 runs in the first match, India's goal of a record win in the Rainbow Nation has been dashed. However, the Men in Blue still have a golden opportunity to level the series as they have only managed to do so once in South Africa. 

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This is the first assignment of 2024 for both teams and both have made a couple of changes to their Playing XI. India made two changes in the all-round department, dropping Shardul Thakur and Ravichandran Ashwin. They have added an extra pacer in Mukesh Kumar and Ravindra Jadeja to add more power to their batting unit. 

With Prasidh Krishna retaining his place, India have decided to go with four frontline pacers, with the rest two being Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. This is the main reason to replace Ashwin with Jadeja. The last time the left-arm spinner played a Test in South Africa was in 2013. Meanwhile, India lost the toss and was asked to field first. 

Speaking at the toss, India skipper Rohit Sharma said: "Would've batted first as well. Looks a good pitch. We understand the challenge of batting first on that pitch, but nevertheless, there will be enough in the pitch for the seamers, so hopefully we'll cash in on it. Important to forget what's happened in the past. We understand the importance of getting runs on the board, and getting 20 wickets. Didn't happen in the first game but we're upbeat about what we can achieve here. Two changes. Jadeja comes back for Ashwin. Shardul misses out, Mukesh Kumar replaces him."

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With Temba Bavuma missing out due to injury, Dean Elgar is captaining the Proteas in his farewell Test. The 36-year-old, who opted to bat first announced some changes to their XI from the Centurion Test. Tristan Stubbs makes his Test debut while Lungi Ngidi also replaces injured Gerald Coetzee. 

Playing XIs of India and South Africa for the 2nd Test

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Mukesh Kumar

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South Africa (Playing XI): Dean Elgar(c), Aiden Markram, Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne(w), Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Nandre Burger, Lungi Ngidi

Here's how fans reacted to India's changes to the playing XI for the second Test:

 

 

India featured South Africa Shardul Thakur Ravichandran Ashwin Ravindra Jadeja Prasidh Krishna Mukesh Kumar