India's ODI and Twenty20 captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has taken over the mantle of the team in place of injured skipper Anil Kumble for the third and final Test match against South Africa in Kanpur starting today. Dhoni has become the first wicketkeeper to lead India in a Test match.
India will be hoping to continue their streak in Kanpur, where they haven't lost a Test match in the last 25 years, as they need to win this match to square the three-match series. South Africa had thrashed India by an innings and 90 runs in three days in the second Test at Ahmedabad.
India has gone into the Kanpur Test with six batsmen and four bowlers -- two fast bowlers and two spinners. There are three changes in the playing XI from the second Test. Yuvraj Singh and Ishant Sharma have replaced Irfan Pathan and RP Singh in the eleven, while Piyush Chawla has replaced Kumble.
Ishant, who had missed the first two Tests because of injuries on his toe and finger, cleared a fitness test yesterday.
Kumble had been given time until today morning to gauge his fitness. He had said yesterday that he wasn't completely fit and would take a final call on his fitness before the start of the match. "I don't want to comment anything on my fitness at the moment. I will see how I feel tomorrow morning. If I am in a position to bowl, I will definitely play," he had said yesterday when asked whether it was a 50-50 chance of him playing the crucial game.
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