India vs South Africa 1st ODI Match: Following the two-match Test series, India and South Africa will now face off in a three-match ODI series. The first match of the ODI series will be played in Ranchi on Sunday, November 30. Team India will look to put aside their clean sweep in the Test series and maintain their dominance in ODIs at home. Meanwhile, South Africa will be looking for an upset.
KL Rahul is leading Team India in the ODI series, while Temba Bavuma is the South African captain. After a long time, an international match will be played in Ranchi. However, Team India will certainly benefit from the home conditions. Looking at both teams, the Indian team appears to have the upper hand.
In this series, the focus will once again be on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who are still dreaming of playing in the ODI World Cup 2027. Rohit Sharma's recent ODI form has been excellent, scoring 502 runs in his last 10 matches at an average of 55.78 and a strike rate of 98.81.
King Kohli hasn't been as effective as Rohit, but once he gets into form, Africa will be in trouble. Kohli has scored 349 runs in his last 10 matches at an average of 43.63 and a strike rate of 83.29. His bat performs well in Ranchi, scoring two centuries in five ODIs played there and being the highest run-scorer. Kohli has scored 384 runs in five matches. India has played a total of six ODIs in Ranchi.
Who Will Open With Rohit and Bat at No. 4 ?
Rohit Sharma is certain to open the innings, but the question is who will partner him. Yashasvi Jaiswal is leading the race. He has opened with Rohit in Tests and now, in Gill's absence, his chances in ODIs appear strong. The team also has Ruturaj Gaikwad, who opens the innings, but his chances seem unlikely.
Virat Kohli is also certain to play at number three, but the problem is the batsman who will play at number four. Although Iyer's name is confirmed for this position, he is not playing in this series. In such a situation, Tilak Verma may get a chance at this number. Tilak has played at this position in T20s. However, Rishabh Pant may challenge him at this position. Captain Rahul will be at number five. An all-rounder may get a chance at number six. This could be Nitish Kumar Reddy. His presence will also give the team a bowling option. He may face competition from Washington Sundar here. If Tilak plays, then Rishabh Pant could come in at number six.
In bowling department it is also certain that India will field two spinners in Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav. The pace attack will be led by Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, and Prasidh Krishna.
Importantly Indian squad is missing some big names for this series, such as Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, and Jasprit Bumrah.
And for South Africa Quinton de Kock's successful return to 50-over cricket, along with Aiden Markram's comeback, is expected to keep Ryan Rickelton sidelined for the time being. Matthew Breetzke will need to take on significant responsibility in the middle order after a remarkable start to his ODI career.
India Squad: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul (c) (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Dhruv Jurel.
South Africa Squad: Temba Bavuma (captain), Ottneil Baartman, Corbin Bosch, Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, Nandre Burger, Quinton de Kock, Tony de Zorzi, Rubin Hermann, Keshav Maharaj, Marco Jansen, Aiden Markram, Lungi Ngidi, Ryan Rickelton, Prenelan Subrayen.
Ranchi Pitch Report
The pitches in Ranchi have generally been slow, meaning high-scoring games are unlikely. Teams chasing have won three out of six matches at the JSCA Stadium in Ranchi. The average score when batting first is 265, which is low in modern cricket. However, we could see a higher total. After the fast bowlers initially, the spinners will control the match. India have won three out of six matches here, lost two, and one ended in a no-result.
IND vs SA Head-to-Head Records in ODI
India and South Africa share a rich history in ODI cricket, having met 94 times with South Africa leading the head-to-head tally 51-40, with 3 matches ending without results.
Broadcast and Streaming Details
The 1st ODI match between India and South Africa will be live telecast on Star Sports Network and live streaming of the match will be available on JioHotstar app and website.
