IND vs SA 1st ODI: India will now shift focus to white ball formats after a tough Test series, where South Africa beat them 2-0. The first ODI will be played in Ranchi and the team will look to start fresh with a strong performance.
KL Rahul will captain the side as Shubman Gill has been ruled out due to injury. Gill also missed the second Test after getting hurt in the first match. Vice-captain Shreyas Iyer is not available either as he is recovering from an injury he picked up during the Australia series.
The big positive for India is the return of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who will be playing their first ODI series since the Australia tour. Both have stepped away from Test and T20Is, so performing well in ODIs is now their main priority, especially with the 2027 World Cup in mind.
IND vs SA 1st ODI: Weather and pitch report
As for the weather, Ranchi’s air quality is expected to be poor. The temperature is around 11°C in the morning and expected to touch 23°C during match hours, with nearly 93% cloud cover. It will get colder in the evening with temperatures dropping to 15°C and going as low as 13°C at night, according to AccuWeather.
The pitch at the JSCA Stadium in Ranchi usually offers something for everyone. Batters are expected to find good scoring opportunities, but the bounce will also help the fast bowlers. As the match goes on, spinners are likely to come into play. Under the floodlights, the pitch provides good grip and turn, but if dew forms later in the evening, chasing may become easier.
IND vs SA 1st ODI: Full squads
India Squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul (WK/C), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, Dhruv Jurel, Kuldeep Yadav
South Africa Squad: Aiden Markram, Quinton de Kock (WK), Temba Bavuma (C), Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, Rubin Hermann, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, Nandre Burger, Lungi Ngidi, Ryan Rickelton, Ottneil Baartman, Tony de Zorzi, Prenelan Subrayen
IND vs SA 1st ODI: Probable playing XI
India: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (WK), Nitish Reddy, KL Rahul (C), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh
South Africa: Aiden Markram, Quinton de Kock (WK), Temba Bavuma (C), Matthew Breetzke, Rubin Hermann, Dewald Brevis, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, Nandre Burger, Lungi Ngidi