09:08 (IST)
South Africa have now lost 10 consecutive tosses in Asia. Moreover, Faf du Plessis have now lost seven consecutive tosses in away Tests.
09:08 (IST)
Having lost nine tosses back to back in subcontinent, Faf said in his pre-match presser here that he would send his proxy. And today he did came with Temba Bavuma. But unfortunately the luck is not in their favour as Virat has once again won the toss and South Africa will bat fourth on this dry pitch.
09:03 (IST)
Toss time: Virat Kohli wins the toss once again and elects to bat first. Just one change for India. Shahbhaz Nadeem, the local lad, will make his debut today. Ishant Sharma has been rested.
09:00 (IST)
Shabaz Nadeem becomes the 296th player to make a debut for India in Tests. He has taken 424 wickets in FC cricket while taking 50-plus wickets in each 2015-16 (51) and 2016-17 (56) Ranji Trophy.
08:58 (IST)
Nadeem gets his Test cap!
What. A. Moment.
Big day for Shahbaz Nadeem as he is all set to make his Test debut 🇮🇳🇮🇳 #TeamIndia #INDvSA @Paytm pic.twitter.com/3hfYTaVyDL
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 19, 2019
08:58 (IST)
Pitch report: This pitch will turn a lot more than first two Test matches. Already there are plenty of cracks and they're quite loose as well, which means it will crumble, So batting will not be easy. According to Sunil Gavaskar, the pitch is made for spinners.
08:52 (IST)
Nice chilly morning here in Ranchi and the big news is, local boy Shahbhaz Nadeem will make his international debut today. The 30-year old has been given the cap during the team hurdle.
Nadeem has been a consistent performer at the domestic as well as India A level for a while now. In fact, since the 2015-16 season, the left-armer has taken 144 wickets in the Ranji Trophy at an astounding average of 23.8 – most by anyone else during the same time-frame.
Finally, he is getting his reward.
08:43 (IST)
Shahbaz Nadeem to make his Test debut at Ranchi!
The perception is that we might have our first turner of the series. And so a debut for Shahbaz Nadeem. Reward for consistent performances for India A
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) October 19, 2019
08:34 (IST)
He has quit longest format five years back but local boy Mahendra Singh Dhoni is expected to watch the third and final Test against South Africa beginning on Saturday, his manager Mihir Diwakar confirmed. Click here to read more.
08:25 (IST)
Former captain Sourav Ganguly can bring about a lot of improvements in Indian cricket as BCCI president, national team wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha said on Friday. Read the full story here.
08:16 (IST)
Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem has been rewarded for his stupendous show on the domestic circuit with a call-up in the Indian Test squad after Kuldeep Yadav was ruled out due to a shoulder injury.Read more here.
08:10 (IST)
Virat Kohli's words after the end of the Pune Test sent a scary reminder to the South African dressing room of the fire-breathing dragon that this Indian team has become. It sends an ominous signal to an already battered South African side that they might be in for more embarrassment if they continue performing the same way.
Read the full preview of third Test by Jigar Mehta here.
08:03 (IST)
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the first day of the third Test between India and South Africa at the JSCA Stadium Complex in Ranchi. After winning the first two Tests by convincing margins at Visakhapatnam and Pune respectively, a rampaging Virat Kohli-led Indian team will hope to inflict a clean sweep on the touring South Africans.
We will get you all the updates from day's play so stay tuned.
India v South Africa, 3rd Test, Day 1, Latest Updates: Toss time: Virat Kohli wins the toss once again and elects to bat first.
India vs South Africa, 3rd Test, Preview: It would have been a dead rubber but with valuable World Test Championship points on offer, India would be eyeing victory while South Africa would be desperate for some consolation in a wretched tour when the third and final Test starts on Saturday.
There are 40 points on offer and a 3-0 series whitewash, both of which India would be targetting against the hapless visitors.
Dominating the Proteas in all the departments, India won the first Test in Visakhapatnam by 203 runs before inflicting an innings and 137-run defeat on the hapless visitors in Pune to regain the Freedom Trophy.
India, who have 200 points from four games, have a massive 140-point lead over nearest rivals New Zealand and Sri Lanka in the WTC standings. Skipper Virat Kohli has also made it clear that there is plenty to play for in the final Test and the team cannot afford a drop in intensity.
Going into the game, India have very few holes to plug, be it their batting or bowling.
The home team could not have asked for more from their top-order with Rohit Sharma showing why he is such an impact player as he feasted on the South African bowlers with twin hundreds in the first Test while opening for the first time.
The Mumbai batsman's opening partner Mayank Agarwal, on the other hand, went on to convert his maiden hundred into a double in Visakhapatnam and followed it up with another century in Pune.
Then it was the turn of 'King Kohli' who came to the party in the Pune with a career-best double hundred — a majestic 254 not out — and made it look like a routine job.
Rohit will be eyeing a big score after not firing in the first innings of the Pune Test while Cheteshwar Pujara, who has scored two fifties in the series, would be looking to cross the three-figure mark.
That India have lost only 16 wickets while routing South Africa in both the Tests sums up their dominance.
Toss has also been kind to India so far and things are likely to get more exciting if the stroke of luck favours Faf du Plessis in the final Test.
The last time South Africa toured India, rank-turners had welcomed the side but this time both the pacers and spinners have been able to extract something out of the pitch.
Umesh Yadav made a fine comeback in the Pune Test to return with fine figures of 3/22 with some brief hostile spells as wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha who took some breathtaking catches to aid to the pacer's tally.
Kohli played an extra pacer in Umesh at Pune by benching Hanuma Vihari but only time will tell what combination he chooses for the final Test.
South African captain Faf du Plessis has already predicted the Ranchi pitch to be a turner, bringing Kuldeep Yadav into contention as the third spinner.
South Africa batsmen showed some fight in Visakhapatnam but they let themselves down in Pune.
It was only the tailenders who showed some character and frustrated the Indian bowling. Du Plessis has urged experiences players like Dean Elgar, Quinton De Kock and Temba Bavuma to bat with responsibility.
Their batting woes are further compounded by the absence of opener Aiden Markram who has been ruled out of the third Test with an injury.
The pace attack comprising Kagiso Rabada, Vernon Philander and Anrich Nortje has also not been as effective as expected while the Indian pacers have managed to provide the breakthroughs.
With their senior-most spinner Keshav Maharaj also ruled out, South Africa will find it tougher to stop the Indian juggernaut.
Squads
India
Virat Kohli (capt), Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Shubman Gill
South Africa
Faf du Plessis (capt), Temba Bavuma, Theunis de Bruyn, Quinton de Kock, Dean Elgar, Zubayr Hamza, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Senuran Muthusamy, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Vernon Philander, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Rudi Second
With inputs from PTI
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