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Live Scorecard and Commentary of this match can be followed at http://live.cricketfundas.com
Toss and Teams: South Africa have won the toss and elected to bat first in the first Test at the VCA Stadium in Jamtha, Nagpur. Graeme Smith says that he is playing with the same team that played in the last test against England with the exception that Paul Harris comes in for Ryan McLaren. But the big news is that India are giving debuts to Badrinath and Wriddhiman Saha! Amit Mishra is the second spinner partnering Harbhajan Singh.
The problem for India is that Rohit Sharma injured his ankle moments before the toss while playing soccer! India therefore had to give debut to Saha, the young Bengal Keeper and perhaps have Skipper MS Dhoni playing as a pure batsman. It could be the other way round as well with Saha playing as a pure batsman. Also got to mention that VVS Laxman has failed to get fit which has created room for two spaces in the batting line-up.
Pitch Report : Sunil Gavaskar in his pitch report mentions that the Nagpur wicket is browner this time, it was infact greenish in the previous games against Australia and Sri Lanka. So that is interesting, India clearly banking on its two spinners. Not to forget that there are two left arm quicks in this match in Zaheer Khan and Wayne Parnell who would be creating plenty of footmarks (rough) for the spinners.
The pitch should be good for batting in the first three days and as it wears down, the spinners will have a large role to play. The wicket may not have the kind of pace and bounce it showed in the previous international games. There will be something in the wicket every morning for the seamers with a bit of grass cover and the early morning moisture.
The weather right now looks perfect with the sun shining brightly. For now there is no sight of any rain.
India : MS Dhoni (C & WK), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Murali Vijay, Sachin Tendulkar, S Badrinath, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha
South Africa : Graeme Smith (C), Ashwell Prince, Hashim Amla, Mark Boucher (WK), AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Paul Harris, Jacques Kallis, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Dale Steyn