IND vs SA, 1st ODI: South Africa wins toss; opts to field first against India

RANCHI(Jharkhand): South African stand-in skipper Aiden Markram won the toss and opted to bowl first in the first ODI against India at Ranchi’s JSCA International Stadium Complex on Sunday.

Temba Bavuma, the regular ODI captain of the Proteas, has been rested along with off-spinner Keshav Maharaj.

“We’ll bowl first. Spent a couple of evenings here, there’s dew at night, and it’ll be slightly easier to bat later. Different personnel, the dressing room is in a good place with a lot of energy and fun. It’s an important series, leading up to the 2027 World Cup — still a bit of time, but we’re up against one of the best teams in the world. Just one spinner in (Prenelan) Subrayen, I will bowl a bit as well. Temba and Maharaj have been rested; four seamers for us today,” Markram said.

KL Rahul, who is leading India in this series due to regular skipper Shubman Gill’s neck injury, said, “We would have bowled first as well. The preparation has been good, and the energy is there with a lot of players coming back. We want to enjoy ourselves in the middle. That’s what the chat has been — we need to use every opportunity we get in the ODI team. This is a great chance to challenge our skills against a very good side. Three spinners and three quicks for us today.”

South Africa (Playing XI): Ryan Rickelton, Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Aiden Markram (captain), Matthew Breetzke, Tony de Zorzi, Dewald Brevis, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Prenelan Subrayen, Nandre Burger, Ottneil Baartman

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Washington Sundar, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper/captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna. (ANI)