IND vs SA, 1st ODI LIVE: India lose their 19th straight toss in ODIs, South Africa to bowl first

In Ranchi, Team India faced their 19th consecutive toss loss in Men’s ODI cricket as South African captain Aiden Markram opted to bowl first in the series opener. Watch the match on OTTplay Premium.

Image | @BABAR9492 on X

Team India’s tough luck with the toss in Men’s ODI cricket continued in Ranchi as they lost their 19th straight toss in the format in the first ODI against South Africa at the JSCA Cricket Stadium on Sunday. South African captain Aiden Markram won the toss and decided to bowl first.

How to watch the India vs South Africa, 1st ODI online?

Cricket fans in India can watch the India vs South Africa, 1st ODI online on JioHotstar, accessible via OTTplay Premium.

South Africa wanted to chase due to dew

South African captain Markram emphasised the fact that the dew in Ranchi might play a huge role during the second innings. He felt that batting in the second inning would be easier, and hence, they wanted to chase.

Moreover, they have rested Temba Bavuma and Keshav Maharaj after the tiring Test series a few weeks ago. They have played four seamers for the first ODI.

“We'll bowl first. Spent a couple of evenings, dew at night time and it'll be slightly easier to bat at night. Different personnel, the dressing room is at a good place with a lot of energy and fun. It's an important series, the end role of the 2027 WC, still a bit of time, but we're up against one of the best teams in the world. Just one spinner in Subrayen, I will bowl a bit - Temba and Maharaj have been rested, four seamers for us today,” Markram said.

Read Also: India Women to host Sri Lanka in Vizag and Trivandrum for five-T20I series

India’s team setup and outlook

KL Rahul, who will be leading India in the absence of Shubman Gill, echoed the thinking of his counterpart Aiden Markram. As per Rahul, they would have liked to bat first as well.

Ruturaj Gaikwad was included in the playing XI while everyone had expected Tilak Verma to be at number four in the place of Gill. KL Rahul will serve as the keeper-batter while Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja and Harshit Rana will serve as the all-rounders of the team.

“We would have bowled first as well. The preparation has been good, the energy is there with a lot of players coming back, we want to enjoy ourselves in the middle. That's what the chat has been, we need to use every opportunity we get in the ODI team, this is a great chance to challenge our skills against a very good team. Three spinners and three quicks for us today,” Rahul said during the toss.

Playing XIs

India: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Washington Sundar, KL Rahul(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna

South Africa: Ryan Rickelton, Quinton de Kock(w), Aiden Markram(c), Matthew Breetzke, Tony de Zorzi, Dewald Brevis, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Prenelan Subrayen, Nandre Burger, Ottneil Baartman.

Share