After India missed the chance to create history in Cape Town, they will have a chance to heal their wounds in the three-ODI series starting January 19. It will be a historic event as soon as Team India take the field as stand-in skipper KL Rahul will be leading India while Virat Kohli will play as a pure batter for the first time after getting sacked as captain in the format.
IPL star set for debut
Team India will be playing an ODI after a long gap of seven years. With Rahul confirming that he will be opening the innings, it will be interesting to see how India’s middle-order would look like. Rahul also hinted that Venkatesh Iyer will make his ODI debut as an all-rounder after proving himself in Vijay Hazare Trophy and IPL 2021.
On the other hand, Ruturaj Gaikwad is set to warm the benches in the first ODI despite purple patch in IPL 2021 and Vijay Hazare Trophy. With Dhawan at the top, it is likely to be a toss-up between Suryakumar Yadav and Shreyas Iyer. India is likely to trust in two bowling all-rounders Shardul Thakur and R Ashwin as well.
Meanwhile, Kohli is still searching for his long-awaited 71st international centuries. Multiple feats also await the 33-year-old as he will bat without the burden of captaincy on his shoulders.
India Predicted XI: KL Rahul (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Shardul Thakur, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal
Big blow to South Africa
Temba Bavuma-led South Africa will take the field without the services of their premier fast bowler Kagiso Rabada who finished the three-Test series as the highest wicket-taker. Anrich Nortje is also not available for the Proteas as he was ruled out of the home series before the Test series. In their absence, Marco Jansen is expected to make his ODI debut after a successful debut Test series.
The first ODI will also mark the return of wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock who announced his retirement from the Test format after historic loss in Centurion. It is yet to be seen whether De Kock opens the innings with Aiden Markram or the latter gets pushed down the order to make space for opener Janneman Malan.
South Africa Predicted XI: Quinton de Kock (wk), Janneman Malan, Temba Bavuma (c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Marco Jansen, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi
India’s ODI record in Paarl
No current Indian player has played at the Boland Park, Paarl. From the Indian dressing room, only Rahul Dravid has had experience at the venue. India have played a total of three ODIs at the venue but none against South Africa. Out of the three, two have been comprehensive win over Kenya and Netherlands in 2001 and 2003 respectively whereas one ended in a tie against Zimbabwe.
What happened last time
Last time, India played an ODI series in South Africa, the Kohli-led team won the six-match series by 5-1. Kohli batted with an average of 186 and scored three centuries and two half-centuries in the series. The highest wicket-taker of the series Kuldeep Yadav is not present in the current team but Chahal was impressive too with 17 wickets to his name.
