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India vs S Africa: India’s Probable Playing XI for the First ODI 

India expected to go with four pacers and a lone spinner in the first ODI against South Africa in Durban.

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In the home season, the Indian team looked impregnable. Even the top teams like England, Australia and New Zealand found it hard to get the better of the Men in Blue on home soil.

However, all this while, the cricket pundits kept saying one thing – India must win in alien conditions to be declared an all-time greatest team like the Mighty Australians in the first decade of this century. Their claims were substantiated when the team struggled in the first two Tests against South Africa. However, they bounced back in the final Test at the Wanderers to impart some respectability to the final score line of 2-1.

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Kohli & Co can take the momentum from the last Test into the one-day series, a familiar territory for them. As the team shed off their white flannels and put on the blues, here is a look at the probable playing XI which India will field in the first ODI against the Proteas on Thursday, 1 February.

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Openers

India expected to go with four pacers and a lone spinner in the first ODI against South Africa in Durban.
Shikhar Dhawan raises his bat after scoring a fifty as Rohit Sharma looks on during the Champions Trophy match between India and Sri Lanka.
(Photo: ICC)

The regular opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan will start the proceedings for India in the batting department. Ajinkya Rahane has been picked as the reserve opener. He will get a game only when either one of the first-choice openers gets injured or fails to get going in the first few matches.

However, both Dhawan and Rohit must be very cautious in the initial overs, considering the lively conditions of Kingsmead in Durban. Their playing style is more suited to pitches where the ball comes on to the bat. Rohit loves to play through the line. Thus, he always runs the risk of nicking the ball. Dhawan too, has the knack of staying leg side of the ball.

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Middle Order

India expected to go with four pacers and a lone spinner in the first ODI against South Africa in Durban.
India’s captain Virat Kohli’s technique will surely come under scrutiny against the Proteas in South Africa.
(Photo: AP)

Instead of using euphemism and lauding the flexibility of the middle order, one has every reason to argue that the Indian middle order is rather unsettled at present. Too much chopping and changing is affecting the consistency of players. All the champion teams over the years have had a settled batting order. There is always room for flexibility. However, each player needs to know his exact role in the side if he has to deliver his best performance.

Virat Kohli has been spectacular off late at No 3 for India, but his technique will surely come under scrutiny again.

His bottom hand play serves him well in friendly conditions, but at places where the ball wobbles around, it can cause trouble to the Indian skipper.

Shreyas Iyer will follow the skipper at No 4 in all likelihood instead of Dinesh Karthik and Manish Pandey. The selection of the young Mumbai batsman Shreyas Iyer would not be a surprise as he deserves a place after a good run in the ODI series against Sri Lanka, where he scored two half-centuries in three matches.

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Lower order

India expected to go with four pacers and a lone spinner in the first ODI against South Africa in Durban.
MS Dhoni will bat at the number five position.
(Photo: BCCI)

Wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni is an automatic selection. He will feature in the team in his new role of a sheet anchor. He has done a commendable job of holding the team together in difficult circumstances in the past ODI season. He should ideally bat at No 5.

Kedar Jadhav makes his way back in the side after his hamstring injury. He missed out on the Sri Lanka series due to the injury that he picked up during a training session before the first India-Sri Lanka ODI. Off late, Kohli has preferred Jadhav over Manish Pandey for the No 6 spot.

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All-rounder

India expected to go with four pacers and a lone spinner in the first ODI against South Africa in Durban.
Hardik Pandya will be expected to come up with some fireworks in the lower order. 
(Photo: Reuters)

Hardik Pandya is the answer to India’s long quest for a pace bowling all-rounder. It is well known that his explosive batting prowess lower down the order, but his technique against the moving ball can lead to his downfall. Setting aside the horrors of the last two Test matches, Pandya would look to capitalise on his ODI form.

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Spinner

India expected to go with four pacers and a lone spinner in the first ODI against South Africa in Durban.
India’s Yuzvendra Chahal (left), and Kuldeep Yadav (right)
(Photo: AP)

The spins twins, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav have been an enigma for the visiting teams in the ODI during the home season. Be it Australia, New Zealand or Sri Lanka, all have struggled to pick up the variations of the wrist spinners.

However, this time the matches are being played in South Africa, so there would be room for just one spinner. At the moment, Chahal is comfortably India’s first choice limited overs spinner. His knack of picking up wickets in the middle overs have shifted the momentum in the team's favour many times.

The leggie is now reaping the benefits of the hard work he put into polishing his craft in the IPL. One must realise that it is no mean thing to make premier spinners like Ashwin and Jadeja waiting in the wings.

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Pace battery

India expected to go with four pacers and a lone spinner in the first ODI against South Africa in Durban.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah & Mohammed Shami (Left to right) 
(Photo: The Quint)

The crux of India’s pace bowling lineup is its variety. The Indian team has four full-time quick bowlers in Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Shami. With three spots remaining, Shardul will miss the first match.

Jasprit Bumrah has become the Trump card of the Indian bowling lineup in the recent times. His delivery that holds its line, instead of coming in to the right-handers with the angle, may prove to be his wicket taking weapon. Batsmen have been found wanting against his concealed slower ones and deceptive yorkers in recent times.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the master of swing and seam bowling. He is adept at bowling in-swing and out swing with the slightest change in his wrist position. He will prove to be India's most potent option in conditions that assist swing bowling.

Mohammad Shami is a complete bowler, one who has both pace and swing. He bowls the heaviest ball out of all Indian bowlers. If he hits his rhythm, he can get through the defences of even the best batsmen.

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India will play six ODIs, the first of which will be played in Kingsmead in Durban on Thursday, 1 February 2018.

After a riveting Test series, get ready to see a flurry of fours and sixes as the Indian team is way more assured of itself in the limited overs format. Quite literally, it’s a different ball game altogether.

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(Saksham Mishra is a budding sports journalist, a student of Radio and TV journalism at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)

(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)

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Topics:  SHIKHAR DHAWAN   ms dhoni   Rohit Sharma  

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