SOUTHAMPTON – Proteas captain Faf du Plessis has won his third toss in row, but has elected to bat against India in today's crunch World Cup clash at the Hampshire Bowl.
Hashim Amla will take first strike as he returns to the side after this blow to the head in the opener against England at The Oval. Aiden Markram, who had a hugely successful county stint here with Hampshire recently, misses out on his adopted home ground
Due to the fast bowling crisis with Lungi Ngidi sidelined for this clash, and Dale Steyn on his way back to South Africa, the Proteas will field a second spinner Tabraiz Shamsi for the first time.
“It's always a cracker playing against these guys,” Faf du Plessis says of playing against India. “Nice and loud. It's a great occasion, looking forward to it.”
IOL Sport's Zaahier Adams spoke to some enthusiastic Indian fans in Southampton on Wednesday.
The teams for the Hampshire bowl match are:
India: 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 KL Rahul, 5 Kedar Jadhav, 6 MS Dhoni (wk), 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Jasprit Bumrah
South Africa: 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Faf du Plessis (capt), 4 Rassie van der Dussen, 5 David Miller, 6 JP Duminy, 7 Andile Phehlukwayo, 8 Chris Morris, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Tabraiz Shamsi, 11 Imran Tahir.