India eye redemption in ODI series against South Africa
After a tough outing in the Tests, India are all set to return to the yard as they host South Africa for the first of the three ODIs in Ranchi on Sunday.
The Men in Blue will be eager to prove themselves and play like they did Down Under, where Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma combined fabulously to help India end the ODI series on a high.
The presence of Virat and Rohit will be a massive boost for Team India as they will add a boatload of experience, particularly in the absence of Shubman Gill. The biggest benefactor of Gill’s absence could well be Ruturaj Gaikwad, who blasted knocks of 117 and 68* against South Africa A in the unofficial three match ODI series, thereby making a strong case for his selection. However, another question is around how India go about selecting Rishabh Pant in the XI, given his return to the ODI fold after 16 months.
South Africa will be coming into the ODIs with abundant confidence, but they’ll need to be very wary of what the hosts have to offer, given their recent results and ability to pile the pressure on any opposition.
Venue Watch:
The pitch in Jharkhand has always been a batting-friendly wicket. As history suggests, the track offers true bounce which will make life a lot easier for the batters. Despite the early drift of the ball, as the lacquer wears off, one can expect to witness a high-scoring contest.
Match details:
Match - India vs South Africa, 1st ODI
Venue – JSCA International Stadium, Jharkhand
Date – 30th November, 2025
Time – 1:30 PM
Head-to-head:
Matches played - 94
India - 40
South Africa – 51
Squads:
India:
KL Rahul (C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh.
South Africa:
Temba Bavuma (C), Aiden Markram, Dewald Brevis, Nandre Burger, Quinton de Kock, Marco Jansen, Tony de Zorzi, Rubin Hermann, Ottneil Baartman, Corbin Bosch, Matthew Breetzke, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Ryan Rickelton, Prenelan Subrayen.
