India lock horns with South Africa as Aiden Markram won the toss elected to bat first in the first ODI which is being played at the Wanderers stadium on December 17, Sunday.
India captain KL Rahul, who handed India debut to Sai Sudharsan, after the toss said,"No (haven't played since the WC final). Special day, watched a lot of cricket on TV - the Pink ODI is a big occasion here in South Africa. Looking forward to a cracker of a game. There was a of spin and it was try, we'll try to put pressure on them. Sai Sudharsan is on debut today. There are a few names that have played a lot of IPL cricket. Ruturaj did well, Tilak seems exciting, Sanju is always exciting. We've got Axar, Kuldeep who'd love to see some spin. They know what pressure is and how to handle it. They all come with IPL experience, hopefully that helps them here and they can perform to the best of their ability."
After winning the toss South African skipper Markram said," We are gonna bat first. Used wicket, we'd like to bat first, we are playing two spinners. It's a fantastic day, hats off to the people. Hopefully both teams can put on a nice show for them. Burger makes his debut - special day for him."
Pitch Report
"Playing on the pitch that was used a couple of days ago. Dimensions - 77 metres straight, square - 59 metres and 69 metres. A dry surface. It's a used pitch. Whoever wins the toss will want to bat first and put runs on the board. Few cracks, they haven't opened up too much. The grass is to hold it all together. 270 is an average score, last five (ODIs) - 298. You don't want to be below that. Bat first, get lots of runs," Pommie Mbangwa analysed the pitch.
India (Playing XI): KL Rahul(w/c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sai Sudharsan, Shreyas Iyer, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar
South Africa (Playing XI): Reeza Hendricks, Tony de Zorzi, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram(c), Heinrich Klaasen(w), David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Andile Phehlukwayo, Keshav Maharaj, Nandre Burger, Tabraiz Shamsi.
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