Rohit has shown leadership by opting out, says Bumrah

jasprit Bumrah has called the move by Rohit to "opt to rest" as one of the positives in the Indian team. Bumrah came out for the toss at the last and final Test match in Sydney in place of Rohit, who has had a torrid time with the bat averaging in single digits through the ongoing series.

Pakistan caMaphaka has played two ODIs and five T20Is, but only three first-class matches. He will make his Test debut 11 days before he finds out how he did in his final examinations at high school.

His selection presents an interesting management challenge for Temba Bavuma, who told a press conference, "You want to allow him to be as free as he can. You want to allow him to continue being the Kwena he is, to allow the exuberance of youth to come out. It's a case of, 'Kwena run in and bowl as quick as you can.' It's about making sure he stays who he is, and allowing him to spread his wings.

"The rest of us played a lot of first-class cricket before making our debuts. We were able to fail, come back and find a way. He's going to have to learn quickly. But I think he has the talent, and that will make it easier for him.

"Considering we've got a series on the line, you don't want to give an opportunity to a young guy when there is no consequence."

Even so, Maphaka will be helped by the fact that the match is a different kind of dead rubber. The series remains alive after South Africa's two-wicket win in Centurion on Sunday, but the home side's win sealed their place in the WTC final at Lord's in June. That said, Maphaka won't want for motivation.

Neither will Wiaan Mulder, who will want to pick up where he left off after breaking his finger during the Kingsmead Test against Sri Lanka last month. His return is hard luck for Corbin Bosch, who has lost his place despite taking 4/63 and scoring 81 not out in the first innings on debut in Centurion.me back well in the second half of the first session following a 61-run opening stand that set the tone for South Africa's innings in the second Test in Cape Town. Rickelton reached his second fifty-plus score but the wickets of Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder and Tristan Stubbs helped Pakistan bounce back strongly as South Africa went into Lunch on Day 1 at 72/3.

It was a productive first hour's play for South Africa after the hosts opted to bat, with Rickelton leading the charge. Rickelton played some crisp drives, getting three fours inside the first five overs before Markram drove Mir Hamza for two successive boundaries. Meanwhile, Saim Ayub twisted his ankle while fielding and had to be helped off the field, and later was taken to a hospital for scans, adding to Pakistan's concerns. The bowlers didn't find much help barring the occasional movement, with Rickelton's two back-to-back fours off Khurram Shahzad in the 12th over helping South Africa past 50.

Markram, who was saved by the umpire's call on the first ball of the match, had another reprieve in the second over after the drinks break, dropped by Abdullah Shafique at cover when the batter played a hard cut off Shahzad. At the other end, Rickelton continued to collect runs at a good rate, playing a fine on-drive off Mir Hamza for his seventh boundary to enter the 40s. The opening partnership, however, came to an end when Markram tried to drive a Shahzad delivery pitched outside off and edged it to the 'keeper.

Pakistan were a lot more disciplined with their line and length in the second hour but it didn't help that the edges weren't carrying to the slip cordon. Their persistence finally brought a reward when Mulder became the next to depart, caught behind off Mohammad Abbas who kept bowling in the outside-off channel patiently. Rickelton reached fifty in the final over before the break but South Africa suffered another setback as Stubbs edged behind a delivery from Salman Agha at the stroke of Lunch.

At the Sydney Cricket Ground, India made the extraordinary move of replacing their captain even with the series not quite lost as yet. As a result of Rohit being left out, Shubman Gill who missed out in Melbourne got back into the playing eleven. The indications that Rohit was going to miss out was an open secret, with head coach Gautam Gambhir refusing to confirm the captain's availability on the eve of the match.

Bumrah, at the toss, was not asked about the reason for the change by Ravi Shastri but mentioned that the spirits were "positive" in the dressing room.

"Yeah, the chat was pretty good," he said. "We're trying to keep the spirits positive and obviously trying to keep the positives in mind and keep the learnings as well," said Bumrah, who had led the team to victory in Perth when Rohit had missed out earlier in the series for the birth of his second child.

"Obviously, our captain [Rohit Sharma] has shown his leadership as well. He's opted to rest in this game.

"So that shows that there's a lot of unity in our team. There's no selfishness. Whatever is in the team's best interest, we're looking to do that," he said.

India go into the match trailing 2-1 but with a chance to square the series and thereby retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.