It's a fresh start for India in so many ways. They lost the preceding Test series 2-1, and now a new captain will lead the team when they take on South Africa in the ODI opener on January 19 at Boland Park, Paarl. The SA vs IND, 1st ODI match will be telecast live.
India started the tour of South Africa 2021-22 on a rousing note. Virat Kohli & Co won the first Test by 113 runs, making all the right noises as the visitors look to record their first-ever Test series win in South Africa. Kohli then missed the second match with a troubled back on the back of his increasingly troublesome relationship with the powers that be in BCCI. In his absence, KL Rahul led the team and lost the second Test. With a history in the making, Kohli returned but India still ended up losing the third Test, another seven-wicket defeat, and another series.
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What followed was a shock for the ages. Kohli stepped down, again. This time as the Test captain. That Kohli informed the BCCI bosses beforehand about his resignation did little to calm the frayed nerves in an already volatile environment. His shock move left fans aghast and many criticised the BCCI politics. Hopefully, though, Kohli will still play.
And his first skipper post-captaincy will be KL Rahul, who himself is a stop-gap arrangement to fill in for the absent Rohit Sharma. So, the first SA vs IND ODI is a new start for India in many ways. Also, the makeup of the team will be very different. The likes of Shikhar Dhawan and Yuzvendra Chahal are likely to get a look in even as young turks Ruturaj Gaikwad and Venkatesh Iyer continue to bid for permanent places.
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South Africa will also have a different team, with Temba Bavuma leading the charge. Quinton de Kock, who retired from Test cricket after the tour opener, will be back to open the innings. Then there are Rassie van der Dussen, Janneman Malan, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, etc.
Head-to-head
This will be the 85th meeting between South Africa and India. The Proteas lead the head-to-head record 46-35, with three no results. But India have won eight of the last ten meetings. South Africa last beat India in 2018 at the Wanderers.
This will be the 14th bilateral ODI series between the two sides. India have a 6-5 lead. The last series in 2020 in India was abandoned due to the coronavirus outbreak. In the last series in South Africa, India humbled the Proteas 5-1.
Match and telecast details
Match: 1st ODI match between South Africa and India. The three-match series is a part of the ongoing ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League 2020-22.
Date: January 19 (Wednesday), 2022
Time: 2:00 PM IST/10:30 PM local
Venue: Boland Park, Paarl
TV Channels: Star Sports 1/HD, Star Sports 1 Hindi/HD, Star Sports 1 Tamil, Star Sports 1 Telugu, Star Sports 1 Kannada.
Live Streaming: Disney+ Hotstar.
In South Africa, SuperSport will telecast the IND vs SA ODI series live.
Likely XIs
South Africa: Janneman Malan, Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, Quinton de Kock (wk), Dwaine Pretorius, Andile Phehlukwayo, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi.
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India: Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Squads
South Africa: Temba Bavuma (c), Zubayr Hamza, Janneman Malan, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Rassie van der Dussen, Marco Jansen, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Quinton de Kock, Kyle Verreynne, Keshav Maharaj, Sisanda Magala, Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi.
India: KL Rahul (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Venkatesh Iyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Jayant Yadav, Navdeep Saini.
