India vs South Africa
India vs South Africa (Image Credit: Twitter)

After losing the Test series by a 2-1 margin, India would look to make amends in the upcoming three-match ODI series in South Africa. The first one-day international is slated to take place at Boland Park, Paarl on Wednesday.

In the absence of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul will lead the Indian Cricket Team, while Jasprit Bumrah will assume the vice-captaincy duties. Despite missing the services of Rohit Sharma, India have a got great batting unit, that could post big totals on the board.

Shikhar Dhawan is likely to open the batting alongside KL Rahul. The middle-order will have the likes of Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, and Rishabh Pant. India have two great all-rounders in the squads, namely Shardul Thakur and Venkatesh Iyer.

It will be interesting to see how many all-rounders India play with in the first game on Wednesday. As for the fast bowling unit, Jasprit Bumrah will be at the helm. He will share the fast bowling duties alongside Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, and Deepak Chahar among others. How many of them play on Wednesday will be interesting to see.

IND vs SA ODI
Photo Credit: (BCCI)

Facing them South Africa, who are coming into the series on the back of a 2-1 win in the recent Test series against India. They would look to continue the winning momentum and win the ODI series as well.

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Since Quinton de Kock stepped down from the captaincy across formats, Temba Bavuma has been appointed as the captain in the white-ball format. He will lead the team in the upcoming series. Quinton de Kock, though, remains an integral part of South Africa’s white-ball team.

South Africa, too, boasts of a great batting unit. Janneman Malan is one player, who everyone will have their eyes on. He has made a dream start in his short one-day international career and, thus, will strengthen the Proteas’ batting. Besides, the presence of Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen will keep the team in good stead.

Kagiso Rabada will lead the pace attack. Marco Jansen, who finished as the second-highest wicket-taker in the series is likely to be part of the playing XI. Besides, Wayne Parnell, who has troubled Indian batsmen in the past with his left-arm pace, has also been added to the squad. Although, he isn’t likely to be the first-choice pick in the playing XI.

SA vs IND: Weather Forecast And Pitch Report Of Boland Park, Paarl- South Africa v India- 2022, 1st ODI

The pitch at Boland Park in Paarl is likely to have a good amount of assistance for the bowlers. There will be some movement on offer in the initial overs of the innings.

India vs South Africa
India vs South Africa (Image Credit: Twitter)

Pacers can trouble the batsmen with extra pace and bounce. Teams, though, tend to score decent totals here and the batsmen would love to bat here once they adjust to the conditions well at this ground.

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Though, the deck becomes slightly difficult to bat for the teams which bat second. There is value for shots as the outfield is lightning fast here. Both teams would look to bat first upon winning the toss.

Weather Forecast:

According to reports from weather.com, the temperature of Paarl city of South Africa on January 19 (Wednesday) will be 34º C during the day and fall to 17º C at night. The sky will be clear and there is only a 4% chance of rain. The humidity will be about 33% during the day and increase to 55% at night.