Shikhar Dhawan, the captain of the Indian cricket team for the ongoing series between India and South Africa, has won the toss for the first ODI match between the two sides, and has chosen to bowl first. 

There will be a total of three matches in this series. India have earlier won the three-match T20I series between the two countries with a 2-1 margin.

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The match was delayed due to rain and the toss finally happened at 3:30 PM. In the post-toss interview, Dhawan said that India have decided to bowl first because the team is eager to exploit the moisture present on the pitch. He further added that in the match, in which Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ravi Bishnoi have made their debut, India are fielding six batters and five bowlers.

India will be eager to assess their bench strength in the match since a majority of the first-choice players have already travelled to Australia to play in the T20 World Cup. 

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Check out the two sides’ playing XIs of the match:

India– Shikhar Dhawan (C), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas lyer, Sanju Samson (WK), Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Siraj, Avesh Khan.

South Africa – Janneman Malan, Quinton de Kock (WK), Temba Bavuma (C), Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Wayne Parnell, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi.

The Proteas do have an impressive record when it comes to ODI matches against India. The two teams have played a total of 87 ODI matches against each other, in which India have won 35 while the South Africans have bagged 49 victories.

When it comes to home matches, India have recorded 15 wins out of 28 encounters while the Proteas have scripted 13 wins.