India will look to rebound after a painful Test series defeat as they host South Africa for three ODIs, with KL Rahul leading the side in the absence of Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer. The visitors, buoyed by their 2-0 Test sweep, arrive close to full strength, with Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma back in the lineup.
Injuries continue to play a part for India, with vice-captain Iyer sidelined by a rib issue and captain Gill out with a neck problem. The spotlight will again fall on veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, while Ruturaj Gaikwad is tipped to fill Iyer’s role in the middle order. India will need to balance experience and workload carefully ahead of the 2027 World Cup.
South Africa will rely on their strong batting core and spin control from Keshav Maharaj in conditions expected to favour slower bowling at Ranchi. Matthew Breetzke enters the series with a strong record in limited-overs cricket, having scored 50 or more in each of his first five ODIs.
The Ranchi pitch has historically produced modest totals, with chases of 270-280 rarely straightforward. Dew in the evening could influence whether teams prefer to bat or bowl first, but conditions are expected to be perfect for cricket overall.
Probable line-ups:
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad/Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul (C/WK), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna.
South Africa: Aiden Markram, Quinton de Kock (WK), Temba Bavuma (C), Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, Rubin Hermann, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, Nandre Burger, Lungi Ngidi.
With a 5-5 split in previous ODI series between these sides and Bavuma closing in on 2,000 ODI runs, fans can expect competitive cricket despite the short three-match series.
