The third and final Test of the three-match Test series between the hosts India and the visitors South Africa will begin this Saturday (19th October). JSCA International Stadium Complex (Ranchi) will host the final Test of this series.
The hosts India have already won this Test series as they are leading this series by 2-0 with one to go. India won both those Test matches of this series in a dominating fashion. They won the first Test of this series at Visakhapatnam by 203 runs. In the second Test of this series, India beat South Africa by an innings and 137 runs.
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Before the upcoming Ranchi Test match, here is the predicted XI of the Indian national cricket team for that game.
Mayank Agarwal
The Indian opening batsman Mayank Agarwal scored centuries in both the Test matches of this series. He scored 215 and seven runs in the Visakhapatnam Test while the right-handed batsman also scored 108 runs in Pune Test.
Rohit Sharma
The limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma has restarted his Test career as an opener in an outstanding way. He was the best batsman in the Visakhapatnam Test where he scored 176 and 127 runs. Though he failed in the first innings of Pune Test (14 runs), no one is feeling danger on that.
Cheteshwar Pujara
The right-handed top-order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara dominated in the last international cricket season (2018/19). However, he hugely struggled in the Caribbean tour in last August-September. But he is now slowly returning to the form. In the Visakhapatnam Test, Pujara scored six and 81 runs. Meanwhile, he scored 58 runs during the first innings in the Pune Test.
Virat Kohli (Captain)
Indian captain Virat Kohli is in very good form in batting. He scored a record-breaking 254 not out in the Pune Test, which was his first Test century in 2019. In the earlier Test at Visakhapatnam, Kohli scored 20 and 31 not out. Meanwhile, the no.2-ranked Test batsman Kohli is also just one rating point behind from the top-ranked Test batsman Steven Smith.
Ajinkya Rahane
The Indian Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane is in the good touch. He scored 15 runs and 27 not out in the Visakhapatnam Test. Rahane scored a big impactful 59 runs during the first innings of Pune Test where he also had the game-influencing 178 runs partnership for the fourth wicket along with the captain Virat Kohli.
Hanuma Vihari
Despite performing well in recent time, Hanuma Vihari was unfortunate to miss out the last Pune Test due to changing the team combination. He shined in the Caribbean tour where he was very consistent and finished as the leading run-scorer in that Test series. In the first Test of the ongoing Test series (at Visakhapatnam), Vihari (10 runs) didn’t get the proper opportunity due to the top-order dominance.
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Wriddhiman Saha (wk)
Due to the injuries, Wriddhiman Saha missed out the Test side for more than one-and-a-half-year before returning to the playing XI in the ongoing Test series. Saha has made a dream Test return as he impressed with his brilliant wicketkeeping skills. Apart from the late first innings of Visakhapatnam Test, where he scored 21 runs, Saha hasn’t got the batting opportunity yet.
Ravichandran Ashwin
Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has once again returned in the international cricket with his amazing bowling skills. In the Visakhapatnam Test, Ashwin took seven and one wickets (7/145 & 1/44) respectively. On the other hand, he managed a total of six wickets (4/69 & 2/45) in the Pune Test.
Umesh Yadav
The Pune Test was the first Test in 2019 for Umesh Yadav and what a return it was. The right-arm pacer dominated with the ball in that game as he picked up a total of six wickets (3/37 & 3/22) in that match.
Mohammed Shami
Another right-arm pacer Mohammed Shami has been praised recently for his amazing reverse-swing bowling skills. In the fourth innings of Visakhapatnam Test, Shami bagged five wickets (5/35) while he was wicketless in the earlier innings of that same game. He took a total of three wickets (2/44 and 1/34) in the Pune Test.
Kuldeep Yadav
Indian left-arm chinaman Kuldeep Yadav is a very talented bowler. However, he has struggled in almost every format in this calendar year. After the Sydney Test in last January, he hasn’t played a Test match yet. As India have secured this Test series, and Ravindra Jadeja has played some regular matches in recent times, the team management can bring out the fresh spinner Kuldeep Yadav for the Ranchi Test.