Kolkata: Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill have given Team India a steady start against South Africa at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday after winning the toss and electing to bat.
India was 45/0 in 4 overs with a flurry of boundaries from the openers including one off a wide from South Africa pacer Marco Jansen. The Proteas would be looking for some quick wickets in the early stages of the game to get an upper hand.
“We will bat first, it looks like a good pitch, it wasn’t to do with the pitch, we wanted to challenge ourselves. I love to play over here, not just me, the entire team looks forward to playing at this historic ground. We’re playing the same team, don’t think we need to change anything with the way we’ve been playing,” Rohit said after winning the toss.
South Africa, on the other hand, have included Tabraiz Shamsi in the place of Gerald Coetzee.
The Indians have a 100% win record in seven games, while South Africa have won six and lost only to The Netherlands in one of the upsets of the tournament. One man has dominated the Proteas’ dazzling batting show – wicketkeeper-opener Quinton de Kock who has hit 4 centuries in 7 games for an aggregate of 545 runs.
Also Read: ODI World Cup: Can India’s Red-Hot Bowlers Stop Rampaging South Africa Batters In Clash Of Titans?
For India, skipper Rohit Sharma has been leading from the front with an aggressive approach which has been intimidating opposition attacks. Birthday boy Virat Kohli will also be looking to score his 49th ODI ton. Expectations will also be high from Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav who complete a batting line-up which is every team’s envy.
Also Read: Birthday Boy Virat Kohli Eyes Record-Equalling 49th ODI Ton At Eden Gardens Today
In the bowling department, Jasprit Bumrah has been on fire, Mohammad Shami has bagged 14 wickets in just 3 games after being ignored in the first 4 games, Mohammad Siraj showed in the last match how lethal he can be, while spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja are not only difficult to score off but also wicket-taking bowlers.
It’s unfortunate that Hardik Pandya has been ruled out of the tournament, but that won’t affect Team India’s performance as they have already been playing without him in last 3 games.
