NEW DELHI: Rishabh Pant created history by becoming only the second wicketkeeper to captain India in Test cricket when he stepped out for the toss in the second Test against South Africa in Guwahati on Saturday. Pant led the team in the absence of regular skipper Shubman Gill, who was sidelined with a neck injury.

The 28-year-old, who has played 48 Tests for India, has become India's 38th Test captain and only the second wicketkeeper, after the legendary MS Dhoni, to lead the team in the longest format of the game. Dhoni led India in 60 matches between 2008 and 2014.

However, India's luck at the toss continued to desert them, with new captain Pant also failing to turn their fortune around. South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma won the toss and elected to bat.

Pant admitted that captaining India in a one-off Test is "not the best scenario," but said he feels honoured by the responsibility entrusted to him.

"Definitely, one-off match is not the best scenario as a captain. But at the same time, I'm really proud that BCCI has given me this opportunity. You know, whenever you're leading your country, it's the proudest moment," he said in the pre-match press conference.

“But at the same time I am not overthinking about it. We all know how we play cricket and how we want to conduct ourselves on the pitch. It's been a tough Test match, the last one and coming out of it and we just want to do whatever is required to win this Test match and focus on that."