Guwahati (Assam) [India] November 21 : The Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati, will witness a historic moment on November 22 when it hosts its first Test match, featuring India and South Africa.
The toss is scheduled for 8.30 am, and the match will begin at 9 am, following the national anthems of both teams. The two captains will sign portraits of the stadium as part of the pre-match ceremony. A specially crafted gold coin created to mark the occasion will be presented to both skippers.
BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia will ring the traditional bell to signal the start of play. During the break, a book on the Ranji Trophy titled 'Plucky 13' by Sachin Bajaj will be released. At lunch, 10 kit bags will be presented to junior cricketers in a brief ceremony.
Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma will grace the occasion. BCCI President Mithun Manhas, Joint Secretary Prabhtej Bhatia and IPL Governing Council member Mamon Mazumdar will attend the match.
India is heading into the second Test on the back of a 30-run defeat in the first Test in Kolkata. The first Test between India and South Africa, which concluded in just three days at Eden Gardens, marked a historic low for red-ball cricket in India, it was the first instance where both teams were bowled out in all four innings, with neither side reaching a total of 200 runs.
This happened for the first time in 66 years. In Test cricket, there are only 12 instances where neither team managed to touch the total of 200 in either of their innings while being bowled on each occasion.
The brilliant show by spinner Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj, and a gritty half-century by skipper Temba Bavuma made a difference between the two sides. India's defeat at Eden Gardens also placed the match in a statistical context, as the target of 124 became the second-lowest total India has failed to chase down in Test history.
The lowest remains 120 against the West Indies in Bridgetown in 1997. The result also marked South Africa's second-lowest successful defence in Test cricket. Their lowest remains 117 against Australia in Sydney in 1994.
Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday confirmed that wicketkeeper-batter and vice-captain Rishabh Pant will lead India in the second Test against South Africa starting from Saturday onwards, with regular skipper Shubman Gill released from the squad to recover from his neck injury fully.
In the first Test at Kolkata, India were without their skipper Gill to stabilise things from one end, as they were restricted to 93/9 while chasing down 124 against South Africa at Eden Gardens, marking their first loss at the venue in 13 years. Gill was hospitalised and kept under observation.
Later, he was discharged and even travelled to Guwahati with Team India two days back. But now, it has emerged that Gill will not play any further part in the series.