India captain KL Rahul won the toss and opted to bowl first against South Africa in the third ODI, which is taking place at ACA–VDCA Cricket Stadium in Vishakhapatnam. South Africa will feature with two changes as their star players, Tony de Zorzi and Nandre Burger, were hampered by hamstring injuries in the last game. Team India will also feature for one change as Tilak Varma comes in place of Washington Sundar.
Captains at toss
South Africa captain Temba Bavuma: We would have bowled first. A good start upfront will set it up for the middle order. It's been entertaining. The crowd has come out. Hope today's another thrilling one. Two changes. Rickelton and Baartman come in. They (Burger and de Zorzi) will be out for a couple of weeks.
India captain KL Rahul: We'll bowl. We trained here last night and the feedback from the coaches was that there was dew, but it didn't come in as early as Ranchi and Raipur. We were obviously planning to bowl second, keeping our track record in mind. I don't think it's going to play such a big part like Raipur and Ranchi. But, we just want to change the total and see how we can bowl first. Yeah, it looks like a good wicket. For me and from the leadership group, we're really happy with the way we played in the last two games. I know from the outside, 360 being chased down looks like a lot is going wrong. But considering the conditions and considering the way our teams are lined up, I think we did really well. There's a lot of positives to take and I'm really happy with the way we bowled and batted. The chat obviously has been to keep doing the same thing and stay consistent with what we're doing and stay consistent with that process. We know that the results will follow. Not many things that we're looking to change. Just trying to sharpen a couple of things in the field and the results will go our way. One change. Washington Sundar misses out and Tilak Varma comes in.
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India aims to seal the series
India won the first ODI, and Virat Kohli followed it up with a second consecutive century in the second match. Despite putting up a huge total of 358, India lost the game, which levelled the series 1-1. The final ODI will now decide the winner of the series. After losing the Test series, India will be eager to finish the ODI leg on a high.
South Africa remains a strong contender
In ODI head-to-head records, India and South Africa have faced each other 96 times. India has won 41 matches, while South Africa has won 52. This gives South Africa a slight advantage historically. However, with this match being played in India, the contest is expected to be intense and competitive.
India vs South Africa playing XIs
South Africa (Playing XI): Ryan Rickelton, Quinton de Kock(w), Temba Bavuma(c), Matthew Breetzke, Aiden Markram, Dewald Brevis, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Ottneil Baartman.
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna.