India will face South Africa in the first of three ODI matches. This article provides details of South Africa’s Playing 11 against India for the first match of the series.
South Africa plays XI against India – 1st ODI, South Africa tour of India 2025:
Openers: Aiden Markram, Quinton de Kock (week)
South Africa are said to be very confident after their historic Test series win against India, and would like to carry the same confidence into the three-match ODI series against them and put in a strong performance in the first match.
That said, the visitors will have their work cut out for them against a strong Indian batting line-up, which includes the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, both of whom are quite experienced in this format of the game.
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The Proteas have also named a strong squad for this particular series, with names like Aiden Markram and captain Temba Bavuma, both of whom were not part of the last African ODI series against Pakistan, returning for this particular series.
No matter how strong the batting line-up is on paper, it will all depend on their performance on the field, and Africa’s openers will play a vital role in ensuring the team gets off to a good start by forming a strong partnership against the new ball.
The opening pair of experienced batters, Quinton de Kock and Aiden Markram, would be given the task of doing their job in the first ten overs by scoring both as a partnership and as individuals.
Middle-order batsmen and all-rounders: Temba Bavuma (c), Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch
South Africa’s middle order will be bolstered by the presence of regular captain Temba Bavuma, who missed the Pakistan tour due to injury.
Bavuma would look to lead from the front and would also need good support from the other batters.
It would be interesting to see the approach taken by the African batters as the Proteas are batting deep with Keshav Maharaj, who is more than capable with the bat, coming in at number nine.
However, the onus will be on Africa’s top five batters to score the bulk of the runs for the team and will not depend on lower-order batters to score for them.
Bowlers: Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Prenelan Subrayen
When it comes to Africa’s bowling lineup, it is expected to have a good mix of fast bowlers and spinners.
Like India, South Africa are also expected to go into the first match with a combination of three fast bowlers and three spinners, including Aiden Markram.
Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch and Lungi Ngidi will manage the team’s fast bowling attack and look to pick wickets at regular intervals in all phases of the innings.
Keshav Maharaj and Prenelan Subrayen will be the two specialists in the attack and will be assisted by Aiden Markram, taking the number of bowling options available at Temba Bavuma’s disposal to six.
