India Look Maintain Momentum in ODI Series Against South Africa

Durban: Galvanised by the consolatory win in the final Test, a resurgent India will be aiming for their first bilateral ODI series triumph on the South African soil when they take on the Proteas in a six-match rubber, starting on Thursday.

With only 14 months to go for the 2019 ODI World Cup, India will also look to kick off their preparations in earnest during the series.

The Men in Blue will be intent on winning their first-ever bilateral ODI series on South African soil.

India have previously lost 5-2 in 1992-93, 4-0 in 2006-07, 3-2 in 2010-11 and 2-0 in 2013-14. They were also part of two triangular series in 1996-97 and 2001-02, featuring Zimbabwe and Kenya respectively, but the Proteas emerged victors on both occasions.

At stake, there is also the small matter of achieving the no.1 spot in ICC's ODI rankings. Currently, South Africa sit atop with 120 points while India are second with 119 points.

While the ODI rankings change after every match, a cumulative 4-2 series' win will be enough to help India achieve the no.1 spot.

Shreyas Iyer gave a good account of himself, scoring two half-centuries in three matches against Sri Lanka, and is a front-runner for the job. But experience could be of greater value herein, with Dinesh Karthik and Manish Pandey also in the running.

Only one spinner would also mean that Kedar Jadhav is assured of a starting spot, thanks to his part-time bowling. South Africa too, meanwhile, have an eye on the upcoming World Cup. AB de Villiers is set to miss out the first 3 ODIs due to an injured right index finger (sustained during the third Test).

Farhan Behardien is usually their go-to batsman in such situations, but he wasn't called up on this occasion. This is indicative of the Proteas' team management eyeing different combinations.

Durban-born batsman Khayelihle Zondo can expect to make his debut instead. The other option is to open with Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock, and give Aiden Markram another opportunity in the middle-order, wherein he had scored 66 on ODI debut against Bangladesh at East London (October 2017).

The Proteas are expected to go in with only spinner - Imran Tahir.

Teams from:

India: Virat Kohli (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur.

South Africa: Faf du Plessis (capt), Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock (wk), JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Lungisani Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Khayelihle Zondo.

Pitch and condition
The pitch bore a brownish look ahead of the game, in keeping with the rainfall Durban has received of late. Showers are forecast for Thursday's game as well. It might have a bearing on how many spinners India go in with.

Stats and trivia

• India did beat England and Kenya here though, during the 2003 ODI World Cup, giving them an overall two wins in nine ODIs at Kingsmead.
• South Africa's last defeat at home came against England at Port Elizabeth on 6th Feb 2016 and therefore, they take the numero uno spot in the list of best win rates at home since 1st Jan 2016.

Match facts
Thursday February 1, 2018 (d/n)
Starts time: 13.00 local (1100 GMT)