The picturesque stadium of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) in Dharamsala will witness Team India and South Africa lock horns against each other in the first of the three One-Day Internationals. Lucknow and Kolkata will host the second and the third ODIs respectively on March 15 and 18.
South Africa will be extremely satisfied with the contributions of Janneman Malan, Heinrich Klaasen and Jon Jon Smuts in the home triumph against Australia. But they will also want the experienced duo of skipper Quinton de Kock and Faf du Plessis to perform well. However, they will miss the service of Kagiso Rabada, who continues to recover from the injury.
In Full Ammo for the 1st ODI #TeamIndia #INDvsSA pic.twitter.com/bmQ4E5zy4k
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 11, 2020
Read More: India vs South Africa 2020: 1st ODI, Dharamsala – Dream 11, Fantasy Tips, Predicted XI, Pitch Report And Injury Update
On the other hand, the Men in Blues will continue to miss the services of their vice-captain Rohit Sharma, who remains on the sidelines with a calf injury, which he picked up during the T20I series in New Zealand. That means, there will be an additional responsibility of skipper Virat Kohli, who had a forgettable outing against New Zealand.
But the return of Hardik Pandya will bolster their side and will also lend balance. Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar also makes a return from the injury and will hope to strike the right chord from the word go as India look to leave behind their poor result against New Zealand and concentrate on the future.
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India vs South Africa 2020: 1st ODI – Dharamsala, March 12 (Thursday), 1:30 PM
Match Prediction
India and South Africa have had contrasting fortunes in their most recent ODI series. While South Africa swept Australia aside in the three-match ODI series at home, India were beaten by the same margin in their three ODIs in New Zealand.
However, Virat Kohli & Co are always a tough nut to crack at home. With balance and experience by their side, India are the favourite to take a 1-0 lead if the match manages to see its end amid rain in the forecast.
