SA vs Ind, 1st ODI: Visitors to bowl first, Venkatesh Iyer makes debut
Jan 19, 2022
Paarl [South Africa], January 19 : Temba Bavuma-led South Africa won the toss and opted to bat first against India in the first ODI of the three-match series here at Boland Park, Paarl on Wednesday.
The left-handed batter Venkatesh Iyer has been handed his ODI debut and he will be batting in the lower-middle order for the Men in Blue.
On the other hand, South Africa also handed an ODI debut to left-arm seamer Marco Jansen.
At the time of the toss, India skipper Rahul said: "Would've wanted to bat first. We're always ready to do both things. Looks a little bit dry. Have some quality spinners in our attack. With Bumrah and Bhuvi starting, hopefully, they'll get a couple early with the swing. Venkatesh Iyer debuting, Shreyas Iyer to bat at four. The last couple of days and right after Tests there was a lot going on. Emotional for the team. Lot of us have debuted under Virat."
On the other hand, South Africa captain Temba Bavuma said: "Wicket looks a bit dry. Would like to make use of the best of the batting conditions. Hopefully, it slows up and the slower bowlers can get in the game. Hard to get away from the high of the Tests. But will have to focus on today, different format, have to ensure our basics are in touch. Opportunity for us as a one-day team to get our game in order. Have got a standard team. Marco comes in, obviously, we don't have KG available. Two spinners."
Last week, Virat Kohli had announced his decision to step down as India's Test skipper, and now it would be interesting to see how he operates as a pure batter.
Playing XI: India: KL Rahul (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Venkatesh Iyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock, Janneman Malan, Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma (C), Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Keshav Maharaj, Marco Jansen, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi.
