Team India and South Africa will face each other in the first match of the six ODI series at Kingsmead, Durban. After a brilliantly fought Test series, fans wanted more Tests, but they will be treated to six ODIs in 16 days.
South Africa has confirmed that they will be missing the services of AB de Villiers for the first three matches of the series due to a finger injury. This gives India a hope to gain an upper hand in the series, something they haven’t done since the first ever Friendship Series in 1992-93.
This series will also give India an end to their ongoing search for the no.4 batsman, as Virat Kohli hinted that Ajinkya Rahane will be given the chance to bat at the position that has been empty since ever. India will be looking to try Rahane along with Iyer and Pandey, keeping the hard wickets in mind. For them, it will be a big relief that Kedar Jadhav will return to the XI.
For India the key players will be opener Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli along with Shikhar Dhawan and bowlers Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah. All of them have a very good record in ODIs and for Rohit Sharma, it will be chance at redemption for the humiliation he faced last time and for his lean returns in the Test series.
South Africa will start their ‘vision World Cup 2019’ with this series and will also hope that their no.4 batsman AB de Villiers comes back sooner than later. Aiden Markram will be playing in De Villiers’s place, as confirmed by the captain and Lungi Ngidi is poised for his ODI debut.
The series will start the preparation for both teams as one looks to win a series on this tour and another starts their road to World Cup 2019.
Toss: South Africa have won the toss and have opted to bat
Playing XIs:
India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni(w), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal
South Africa: Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock(w), Faf du Plessis(c), Aiden Markram, Jean-Paul Duminy, David Miller, Chris Morris, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel, Imran Tahir
