Hampshire: India are set to kick-start their 2019 ICC World Cup journey against South Africa at the Rose Bowl Cricket Ground in Hampshire, here Wednesday.
South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis won the toss and opted to bat first.
In major team news, pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar gets the nod ahead of Mohammad Shami. Meanwhile, Aidan Markram sits the game out for the Proteas. Du Plessis confirmed that both Hashim Amla and Tabraiz Shamsi come into the playing XI.
“It’s always a cracker playing against these guys (India),” said Du Plessis. “Nice and loud. It’s a great occasion, looking forward to it.”
“The crowd support is going to be massive for us,” added Kohli. “We’re pretty used to the crowds wanting us to win. It’s about keeping our composure and being professional about what we do. We’ve seen a few games happen in the tournament, the pattern of play, and how teams are playing.”
“There’s a lot to learn from that. It’s a very balanced bowling attack that we have. The reason we have both spinners playing comes from the series we played against South Africa and the way those two dominated the middle overs. There’s no bigger motivation than representing your country, let alone captaining your country at a World Cup,” said the Indian skipper.
Teams
India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (Captain), KL Rahul, 5 Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis (Captain), Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, JP Duminy, Andile Phehlukwayo, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Imran Tahir
PNN
