🏏India vs South Africa: 1st ODI🏏

Welcome to all my cricket friends and fans to the Cricket carnival for interesting discussions.⭐️

The three-match ODI series between India and South Africa will start today. Boland Park will host the first two ODIs.

South Africa, who are 5th in the ICC ODI rankings, are fresh from the Test series win over their Asian rivals. Janneman Malan has been a revelation for South Africa and he is one of the players to watch out for. Along with him, the return of Quinton de Kock will boost the confidence of the hosts. The likes of Rassie Van Der Dusen, Temba Bavuma, Marco Jansen, and Kagiso Rabada will look to carry on from where they left in the Test series.

India is 4th in the ICC ODI rankings. KL Rahul is the new skipper in Rohit Sharma’s absence. Virat Kohli will once again lead the batting charge along with Shikhar Dhawan, Rahul, and Shreyas Iyer. Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal have an impressive record in South Africa.

After an enthralling Test series, the teams are set to lock horns in the ODIs. The last time India played an ODI series in South Africa, they thrash South Africa 5-1. There will be a few changes in the squads for both teams. Several Test specialists will be out and will be replaced by new faces. Shikhar Dhawan, Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad among others, have been named in the India squad, while David Miller, Zubayr Hamza, Jannemann Malan, Quinton de Kock will be back in South Africa.

On paper, both teams look on par and it's expected to be a close series. India last played an ODI series against Sri Lanka which they won. South Africa too locked horns with Sri Lanka in their last series and suffered a 2-1 loss.

Virat Kohli is a legend of the ODI format of the game and has scored over 12000 runs at an average of close to 60.

Rishabh Pant is an explosive batter who can decimate any bowling attack on his day. If Pant gets going, then there will be plenty of problems for the Protean bowling attack.

Quinton De Kock can put pressure on the opposition with his aggressive stroke play. The left-hander has scored 5355 runs in ODI cricket at an average of above 45.

K L Rahul had a decent Test series. He is a batter who is in great form and as a skipper, will be more determined to do well.

Janneman Malan has been South Africa’s backbone in ODIs. In the last series against Sri Lanka, he was the team’s highest scorer. Back him to start well here as well.

Shardul Thakur is very underrated. You don’t expect to take him wickets but he always surprises you with outstanding spells!!

KL Rahul is the new skipper in Rohit Sharma's absence.

Pitch Report

The track will have something for the bowlers and batters. The pacers will look to exploit the early advantage, while the batsmen can go on run-scoring spree after a watchful start. The surface is expected to remain the same throughout the match. The side that wins the toss could bat first and put up runs on the board.

Weather Update

There are no chances of rain.😃 The temperature is expected to remain between 17 and 33C.

Playing XIs

India

Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul (c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishab Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah

South Africa

Janneman Malan, Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma (c), Rassie van der Dussen, Quinton de Kock (wk), Dwaine Pretorius, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi.

SA vs IND Match Toss Prediction

It’s the first game of the series and both teams would like to have a look at the wicket first. We feel the skipper who wins the toss will bowl first!!

Match Prediction

South Africa has a pretty balanced squad and is looking forward to starting on a winning note. India, on the other hand, has included a lot of youngsters on the side, who would like to win games for the side!!

Several Key players including David Miller, Jannemann Malan, Quinton de Kock among others will be back for South Africa.

Janneman Malan - Malan has been one of the key performers for South Africa in limited-overs cricket. Against Sri Lanka, he was South Africa's leading run-scorer with 162 runs in three games at an average of 54.

Aiden Markram - Irrespective of his performance in the Test series, Markram is expected to come good in the ODI series. Actually, he looked good in the Test series as well, but couldn't play a long inning. However, this is a format he enjoys more.

Kagiso Rabada - Rabada was at his brutal best in the Test series and troubled the Indians with his line and lengths. He will be keen to continue tormenting Indian batters in the ODIs as well.

Both teams are evenly matched as it's going to be a close series. However, we are backing India to win because they have more experience in the team. South Africa has some good players, but they are yet to prove their consistency. For us, India is our favourite.⭐️

South Africa captain Temba Bavuma said they are mulling over whether to select a specialist batsman or all-rounder at number six for the opening one-day international against India on Wednesday (January 19). South Africa’s form in the 50-over format has been patchy, but as they build towards the 2023 World Cup in India they are looking to nail down their combinations.

Bavuma told reporters on Tuesday. “You have to accept that probably one bowler on the day won’t hits his straps. I would like to have as many options as I can, taking into account the balance of the team.”

At a virtual press conference on Tuesday, ahead of the 1st ODI, Rahul confirmed that he would open the Indian innings in Rohit Sharma's absence.

'KL Rahul has said that he has played at different positions because the team needed him to. But now, in Rohit Sharma’s absence, he will open the batting. I think it is a good move. The team’s best players must utilize maximum overs in one-day cricket. I think it’s a very positive and right move.”

Apart from opening the innings, the 29-year-old will also lead the side. Rahul was named captain after Rohit was ruled out due to a hamstring injury, which kept him out of the Tests as well.

“I think India should play two spinners” - Salman Butt on India’s bowling strategy in South Africa

At the press conference, Rahul also hinted that India might play two spinners since Paarl could offer some turn. Answering a query on whether the visitors should go with two slow bowlers, Butt answered in the affirmative and explained:

Rahul said ---“I think India should play two spinners. Obviously, pitches in one-day cricket are good ones. But spin is India’s strength and South Africa are not renowned players of slow bowling. During India’s previous ODI series in South Africa (2017-18), Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav combined to claim 33 wickets in six matches. Definitely, India must go with this idea. South Africa’s batting is slightly inexperienced and India’s spinners can take advantage of the same.”

As for the pacers, the 37-year-old backed Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah to play all ODIs due to their extra pace and aggression. He concluded:

“India needs to have both Siraj and Bumrah in the ODI team. They have the pace and their attitude is also different. All the others are medium-fast pacers. In the T20 World Cup, they failed to make early inroads due to lack of pace apart from the toss factor. According to me, Siraj and Bumrah will be India’s two wickets-takers, who can create pressure.”

The last time India played an ODI series in South Africa, they trounced the Proteas 5-1.

Thanks for the thread Madhuri!👍🏼

I will be able to watch the first half.

Can't wait for the match to start.

Cheers..