Ind vs SA, 1st ODI: Du Plessis wins toss, Kohli-led team to bowl first
The first ODI match in between India vs South Africa is going to be played today in Durban, South Africa. The South African captain Faf Du Plessis won the toss and elected to bat first, so now Indian team led by captain Virat Kohli is going to bowl first.
Following the toss, Indian skipper Virat Kohli said that even he would have opted to bat first had he won the toss because of the conditions around.
"We would have batted first here as well. It's a pretty easy decision because of the conditions around. Playing two wrist spinners and Kedar as the offie, along with Bhuvi and Bumrah, gives us an opportunity to do whatever we have to do. We've played good cricket at this ground always. We'll have good crowd support too. Like I said, the balance of our team gives us the opportunity to have a crack at both innings equally," he said.
Faf du Plessis, on the other hand, revealed that Aiden Markram is playing in place of the swashbuckling batsman AB de Villiers, who is out with a finger injury.
Markram will come to bat at number four spot while Imran Tahir is also back in the squad.
Meanwhile, India have called in Ajinkya Rahane to bat at No. 4 spot.
Fresh from the victory in the third Test at Wanderers, India will aim to clinch the number one spot in the ICC ODI team rankings with a series win.
India are currently on 119 rating points while South Africa is at 120.
It should be noted that India have never won a one-day international series in South Africa, but now the visitors will aim to break the jinx.
Also, the Virat Kohli-led side have not lost a single series in this format in the past two years. They last lost to Australia in January 2016.
The Playing XI
India : Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni(w), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal
South Africa: Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock(w), Faf du Plessis(c), Aiden Markram, Jean-Paul Duminy, David Miller, Chris Morris, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel, Imran Tahir
(With ANI Inputs)
