India vs SA 1st ODI: India Win Toss, Elect to Bowl After Start Delayed
India, captained by Shikhar Dhawan, are playing South Africa in the ODI series-opener in Lucknow.
advertisement
After much delay due to a wet outfield, and then rain, the toss of the ODI series-opener between India and South Africa has finally taken place, with Shikhar Dhawan winning the toss and electing to bowl first at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.
Due to rain delay of more than two hours, the match will be a 40-over-a-side affair.
Ruturaj Gaikwad is making his ODI debut.
Earlier, because of heavy rains that lashed the capital city of Uttar Pradesh overnight, the start time of the match was pushed by 30 minutes, based on an early inspection of the ground done by the umpires.
The teams had earlier featured in a three-match T20 series that India won 2-1, triumphing in the first two matches at Thiruvananthapuram and Guwahati. South Africa won the third match played in Indore.
The Teams:
South Africa: Temba Bavuma (c), Janneman Malan, Quinton de Kock (wk), Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Wayne Parnell, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi.
India: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson (wk), Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Siraj, Avesh Khan.
In India's ODI squad, only travelling reserves for the Men's T20 World Cup like Ravi Bishnoi, Shreyas Iyer and Deepak Chahar will take part in the three-match series as the main squad left for Perth, Australia early on Thursday.
After the first ODI in Lucknow, the teams will move to Ranchi for the second match on October 9 and end the proceedings in New Delhi with the third match on October 11. The series is a part of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League, which will determine the teams who will be eligible for direct qualification in the 2023 ODI World Cup to be hosted by India next year.
India don't have much to worry about regarding the Super League points as they have automatically qualified for participation in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup next year in the country on the account of being the tournament hosts. South Africa are at number eleven in the standings, with 49 points from 13 matches.