South Africa v India 1st ODI: Preview, Key Players and Best Bets

The focus shifts from Test cricket right into ODI cricket as South Africa look to push themselves into the top 8 of the ICC ODI Super League standings to guarantee a spot in the 2023 ICC World Cup.  previews Wednesday’s 1^st ODI between the Proteas and India.  

South Africa head into the One Day International series on the back of a memorable Test series victory against the number one team in the world and just as important as that series was (in terms of Test Championship), the ODI series is just as important if not more (in terms of Super League Table).  

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Like in Tests, India poses a threat that no other team in the world can match as they have wold-class cricketers in their side. KL Rahul will lead the side in the absence of newly appointed ODI captain, Rohit Sharma due to injury while Virat Kohli will play as a batter and a senior player in the side.  

From the South Africa camp, a few debuts are on the cards; Sisanda Magala looks in line for a second ODI cap on Wednesday in Newlands and the star of the Test series Marco Jansen is a prospect for a debut ODI cap after impressing against the same opposition.

Proteas ODI Form

The Proteas have a poor record in their last 10 ODIs; they’ve won only 3 matches, lost five and are  9^th on the Super League log. They are not carrying good ODI form going into this series but have had flashes of impressive individual performances in T20I cricket from Aiden Markram and Rassie van der  Dussen in particular. Both might impress with the bat this series because of their form in white-ball cricket.  

India ODI Form

India are placed 6^th in the Super League with five wins in nine matches including four losses. They’ve lost a series at home against Australia and won two series’ away against England and Sri Lanka. Up against South Africa from Wednesday 19th January, they will field a full-strength eleven with a possibility of Ruturaj Gaikwad making his ODI debut. Gaikwad has had an impressive IPL campaign and also shone with the bat in India’s domestic 50-over competition. In terms of form, India has the upper hand over the Proteas.  

There is no underestimating India in any format, they have the ability to beat any team when they are in full flow. 

Proteas Probable XI

1. Quinton de Kock (wk) 

2. Janneman Malan 

3. Temba Bavuma © 

4. Rassie van der Dussen 

5. Aiden Markram 

6. David Miller 

7. Marco Jansen 

8. Keshav Maharaj 

9. Kagiso Rabada 

10. Lungi Ngidi

India Probable XI

1. KL Rahul © 

2. Ruturaj Gaikwad 

3. Virat Kohli 

4. Shreyas Iyer 

5. Suryakumar Yadav 

6. Rishabh Pant (wk) 

7. Shardul Thakur 

8. Washington Sundar 

9. Jasprit Bumrah 

10. Yuzvendra Chahal 

11. Mohammed Siraj

Match Verdict

The last time India toured South Africa, they won the ODI series 5-1 with Virat Kohli making over 500 runs in six innings at an average of 186, while Yuzvendra Chahal took 16 wickets at 16.37. This stat alone will tilt you in India’s direction, but don’t overlook South Africa’s fighting spirit when playing at home. They also carry some momentum from Test cricket. I go with South Africa in the first ODI. 

Best Bets

Key Players

Proteas Five Key Players: 

1. Janneman Malan 

2. Quinton de Kock 

3. Temba Bavuma 

4. Aiden Markram 

5. Sisanda Magala 

India Five Key Players: 

1. Yuzvendra Chahal  

2. Ruturaj Gaikwad 

3. KL Rahul 

4. Jasprit Bumrah 

5. Virat Kohli

Squads

Proteas ODI Squad: 

Temba Bavuma (Captain), Keshav Maharaj (vice-captain), Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Zubayr  Hamza, Marco Jansen, Janneman Malan, Sisanda Magala, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi,  Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van  der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne.

India ODI squad: 

KL Rahul (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaekwad, Virat Kohli, Surya Kumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer,  Venkatesh Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravichandran Ashwin,  Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Prasidh Krishna,  Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj.