Lucknow - India skipper Shikhar Dhawan won the toss and elected to field against South Africa for their rain-delayed one-day international series opener on Thursday.
The hosts have handed ODI debuts to Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ravi Bishnoi at the start of the three-match series in Lucknow, which has been cut to 40 overs-a-side.
"There is a bit of moisture on the wicket and we want to exploit that," said Dhawan. "We've got six batters and five bowlers playing."
India is fielding a second-string team after its Twenty20 side, led by Rohit Sharma, left for the World Cup in Australia which begins later this month.
Janneman Malan, Heinrich Klaasen and Tabraiz Shamsi have returned for South Africa, which lost the T20 series 2-1.
"We would have liked to bowl first as well. We have a job to do with the bat and we need to adapt accordingly after the first few overs," skipper Temba Bavuma said.
"You gotta be able to adapt to different formats quickly and we still want to keep those T20 skills in check. Every game for us is a big opportunity."
Teams
India: Shikhar Dhawan (capt), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson (wk), Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Siraj, Avesh Khan
South Africa: Janneman Malan, Quinton de Kock (wk), Temba Bavuma (capt), Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Wayne Parnell, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi
AFP