Sat Nov 22 04:40:00 UTC 2025: Okay, here’s a summary of the provided text, followed by a news article based on that summary:

Summary:

Due to a neck injury sustained by Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant captained India in the second Test against South Africa. This makes him the 38th Test captain for India and only the second wicket-keeper after MS Dhoni to lead the team. With this appointment, India ties with the West Indies for the third-most Test captains in cricket history. The match takes place in Guwahati, and South Africa won the toss and chose to bat first. Rishabh Pant acted as stand in captain when Shubman Gill was unable to continue in the first test in Kolkata but now he is official team captain in series decider with India being down 0-1 in the series.

News Article:

Pant Leads India as Captain in 2nd Test After Gill Injury

Guwahati, India – Rishabh Pant has been named captain of the Indian cricket team for the second Test match against South Africa, held at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. Pant takes over the captaincy after Shubman Gill suffered a neck injury, sidelining him for the match.

This marks a significant milestone for Pant, making him the 38th player to captain India in Test cricket. He is also only the second wicketkeeper-batsman to lead the national side, following in the footsteps of MS Dhoni. Dhoni also debuted Test captaincy against South Africa back in 2008.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed Gill’s injury, stating that he experienced neck pain during the first Test. Gill felt neck pain in the first innings. He left the field.

With this captaincy appointment, India now joins the West Indies with the third-highest number of Test captains in cricket history. Ahead of them are England and Australia.

South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first.

India’s Playing XI: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel, Rishabh Pant (c/wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitesh Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

South Africa’s Playing XI: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma (c), Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Senuran Muthusamy, Simon Harmer, Keshav Maharaj.

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