Follow UsYashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad have been included in the Indian team as the Men In Blue begin the ODI series against South Africa in the absence of regular skipper Shubman Gill and number four batter Shreyas Iyer, both of whom are out with injuries.
Proteas skipper Aiden Markram won the toss and had no qualms in choosing to bat first as a considerable amount of dew was observed by the teams while they trained ahead of this game in Ranchi.
Meanwhile, India have gone with three seamers – Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana – along with three spinners – Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja. Skipper KL Rahul is slotted to bat at number six in the batting order.
As for the Proteas side, Test skipper Temba Bavuma and spinner Keshav Maharaj have been rested for the game, with Matthew Breetzke batting at four and Prenelan Subrayen making up for Maharaj’s absence.
The buildup to this game has been dominated by MS Dhoni and his dinner for Team India, which he organised at his farmhouse. There is a lot of buzz around his presence during the game, and Indian stand-in skipper KL Rahul also acknowledged that it will get the team excited.
Playing XIs
India: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Washington Sundar, KL Rahul (C/WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, and Prasidh Krishna.
South Africa: Aiden Markram (C), Ryan Rickelton, Quinton de Kock (WK), Matthew Breetzke, Tony de Zorzi, Dewald Brevis, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Prenelan Subrayen, Nandre Burger, and Ottneil Baartman.
What Did The Skippers Say
Aiden Markram, South Africa Captain: We'll bowl first. Spent a couple of evenings, dew at night time, and it'll be slightly easier to bat at night. Different personnel, the dressing room is in a good place with a lot of energy and fun. It's an important series, the end role of the 2027 WC, still a bit of time, but we're up against one of the best teams in the world. Just one spinner in Subrayen, I will bowl a bit - Temba and Maharaj have been rested, four seamers for us today.
KL Rahul, India Captain: We would have bowled first as well. The preparation has been good, the energy is there with a lot of players coming back, and we want to enjoy ourselves in the middle. That's what the chat has been, we need to use every opportunity we get in the ODI team, this is a great chance to challenge our skills against a very good team. Three spinners and three quicks for us today