Proteas captain Faf du Plessis won the toss and opted to bat first in Wednesday’s World Cup fixture against India at the Rose Bowl.
The Proteas are without fast bowlers Lungi Ngidi and Dale Steyn. The former has been sidelined for this match by a hurt hamstring, while the latter has been ruled out of the entire tournament by a shoulder injury. Left-arm wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi was named in the XI.
South Africa are smarting after last week’s defeats to England and Bangladesh at The Oval in London. This is India’s first match of the tournament. They lost to New Zealand and beat Bangladesh in the warm-up fixtures.
Wednesday’s weather in Southampton is a predicted high of 17 degrees Celsius – and no chance of rain, with high humidity levels.
South Africa and India have contested 83 ODIs. The former have won 46 and the latter 34, with three no-results. The Proteas, however, have been victorious in just three of the last 10. Their last meeting on neutral territory was during the 2017 Champions Trophy at The Oval in London, where India triumphed comfortably.
Wednesday’s second match will see New Zealand clash with Bangladesh at The Oval. Sri Lanka beat Afghanistan in Cardiff, Wales, on Tuesday. Australia will meet the West Indies at Trent Bridge on Thursday.
India squad: Virat Kohli (captain), Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shikhar Dhawan, MS Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul, Mohammed Shami, Vijay Shankar, Rohit Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav.
South Africa squad: Faf du Plessis (captain), Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), JP Duminy, Beuran Hendricks, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Chris Morris, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Imran Tahir, Rassie van der Dussen.
