Ind vs SA 1st ODI - South Africa Eye India's No. 2 ODI Spot

Jaipur: With their thrilling Test series ending 1-1, the focus has shifted to the shorter format where the No. 2 ranked India take on South Africa - who are at No. 3 in ODI charts in a three-match series, with the first tie to be played in Jaipur on Sunday.

A series victory would propel the visitors to the No. 2 spot whereas a triumph for India would keep them firmly behind leaders Australia.

The change of personnel in both teams is sure to add spice to the contest. The likes of Yusuf Pathan, Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina are all set to get a look in for the hosts while South Africa welcome ODI specialists Herschelle Gibbs, Albie Morkel, Loots Bosman and Roelof van der Merwe.

With all three contests being day-nighters, team composition and toss will be crucial factors for both captains - MS Dhoni and Jacques Kallis, who is leading the side in the absence of Graeme Smith.

Talking of injuries, India are sure to feel the absence of the injured Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh in the batting department. Zaheer Khan, who suffered a muscle strain in the second Test at Eden Gardens and Harbhajan Singh, who has opted out of first two ODIs to attend his sister's wedding, will be missed in the bowling department.

South Africa, on their part, will need to think out their opening combination in the absence of Smith. In-form Hashim Amla, who originally was not part of the ODI squad, has been asked to stay back and may partner Bosman at the top.

Both teams head into the ODI series after some indifferent results in the recent past.

Team news

Team from:

India don't have Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan. India's injuries present more opportunities to the likes of Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina to cement their places in the side. Kohli had a superb outing in the tri-series in Bangladesh and the pressure is on Raina, whose stock slipped after a poor ICC World Twenty20.

Squad

(likely): Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar,Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik, Yusuf Pathan, Praveen Kumar, Amit Mishra/R Ashwin, Ashish Nehra, Sreesanth.

South Africa: They will miss skipper Smith, but inforn batsman Hashim Amla include in squad

Squad

(likely): Herschelle Gibbs, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis (capt), Loots Bosman, Mark Boucher (wk), Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn, Johan Botha, Charl Langeveldt.

Pitch and conditions
"We've prepared a batting wicket. It is a 270 wicket," curator Taposh Chatterjee said. In the last game played here, India nearly chased Pakistan's 306 and one can expect another run-fest. However, dew is expected to play a role and the teams batting second might have an advantage.

Stats and trivia

• Sachin Tendulkar is the leading Indian batsman against South Africa in ODIs with 1655 runs at 31.82, including three centuries.
• Gary Kirsten, the former South African opener and now India's coach, has the most Man-of-the-Match awards in India v South Africa contests - five.
• In seven day-and-night games played in Jaipur, the team batting second has won five.

Match facts
February 21, 2010
Start time 14:30 local (09.00 GMT)