S.Africa opt to bat in first ODI

South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis won the toss and elected to bat in the opener of the six-match ODI series against India at Kingsmead here on Thursday.

With former skipper AB de Villiers being ruled out of the first three matches with a finger injury, the hosts have included Test opener Aiden Markram to bat at the No.4 spot.

The visitors on the other hand, opted to go with the usual combination of two wrist spinners -- Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, alongside the part-time off-spin option of Kedar Jadhav.

Teams:

India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (WK), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal.

South Africa: Quinton de Kock (WK), Faf du Plessis (Captain), Hashim Amla, Jean-Paul Duminy, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Chris Morris, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel, Imran Tahir.

--IANS

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