The first ODI of the three-match series between India and South Africa will be played on March 12 at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala. Both the teams are coming into this series with different results in their previous encounters.
South Africa are coming off a 3-0 drubbing of Australia in their own backyard as Quinton de Kock’s new-look side hammered the Aaron Finch led Kangaroos in all three matches, despite their in-form captain failing two of the matches.
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India, on the other hand, suffered a 3-0 whitewash at the hands of New Zealand in the format on their recent tour to the country. Virat Kohli had termed ODIs irrelevant in 2020, given that it is a T20 World Cup year and focus is on 20-over games, but a 0-3 series loss should have him jolted enough to focus on the 50-over format as well.
With this in mind, Team COC brings to you the Predicted Team India Playing XI for the first ODI against South Africa.
This series against South Africa is a long list of comebacks for many Indian players. One of those is opener Shikhar Dhawan, who has recovered from a shoulder injury he suffered against Australia and is expected to open with young Prithvi Shaw. Rohit Sharma has not recovered enough from his hamstring injury and Shaw showed good signs of taking to ODI cricket in his stead in New Zealand.
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The middle-order is mostly expected to be comprised of Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, and KL Rahul. Rahul will continue to keep wickets, something he did since the Australia series at home, while Iyer has ended the debate for the no.4 spot with his maiden hundred in Hamilton, New Zealand.
The biggest pressure will be on Virat Kohli, the skipper, who has not scored a century for more than 20 international innings now, while scored just one fifty on the entire New Zealand tour. His poor run of form is a big concern for Indian team management, no matter how cool Kohli seems to be at the press conferences.
One of the biggest comebacks in this series is of all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who is expected to don the India blue jersey after more than 6 months. He is in blistering form, scoring back-to-back hundreds in a domestic T20 tournament. He has gained 100% fitness and is eager to perform on the international stage.
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Ravindra Jadeja and Yuzvendra Chahal are expected to be the spin options for this first ODI as they both did well in New Zealand as well. Pandya and Jadeja will also play the role of all-rounders extending the batting depth.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar is also expected to make his comeback into the Indian team, after gaining full fitness from his sports hernia and other injuries. Jasprit Bumrah and Navdeep Saini are also seemingly in line to accompany Bhuvneshwar in the fast bowling department given that the Dharamshala pitch carries good bounce and movement for quicks.
This will be India’s last international assignment before the Indian Premier League 2020 begins.
COC Predicted Team India Playing XI for first ODI:
Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Virat Kohli (C), Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah
