SA vs IND 2018, 3rd ODI: India Bat First; Hosts Make Two Changes

South Africa won the toss and decided to field first in the third One-Day International at Newlands, Cape Town.

The hosts have handed debut to Heinrich Klaasen and Lungi Ngidi while the visitors have remained unchanged.

Here is what the captains said:

Aiden Markram: We are gonna bowl first. We do understand India chase very well. We have got two debutants today. Klaasen and Lungi come in. The guys have been working hard.

Virat Kohli: We would have batted first as such. It looks like a good batting track. We think it would do more under the lights. It will only get drier in the day. The wrist spinners can turn it on any surface and it helps them when the wicket is harder. Every game is important. We don’t want to let our guard down. We want to consolidate further. Not at all(when asked about changes). We are playing the same team.

Preview:

With the form and momentum on their side, red-hot India will be desperate to win the third game and take an unassailable three nil lead in the six-match series. India has never won a bilateral series against South Africa in their own backyard and a win in Cape Town will take them step closer to the historic feat. India had lost 5-2 in 1992-93, 4-0 in 2006-07, 3-2 in 2010-11, and 2-0 in 2013-14.

On the other hand, the beleaguered hosts face a herculean task to bounce back after being comprehensively outplayed in the first two ODIs. What makes their task even more tougher is the absence of their star trio -AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis and Quinton de Kock – all of whom are sidelined due to injuries. But with conditions known to them, the Proteas can still fancy their chances against the high-flying Indians.

Here is the playing eleven of both the teams:

South Africa:

Hashim Amla, Aiden Markram(c), Heinrich Klaasen(w), Jean-Paul Duminy, David Miller, Khaya Zondo, Chris Morris, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Lungisani Ngidi, Imran Tahir

India:

Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal