India v South Africa 1st ODI Tips, Predictions and Preview

Gary Emmerson:

After contrasting whitewashes in their most recent ODI series, India and South Africa will contest for bragging honours in the three-match ODI series with the first played in Dharamsala on Thursday.

India were beaten 3-0 by New Zealand away from home and will hope that the return home will help them. The Proteas, on the other hand, blanked Australia 3-0 and will be eyeing a continuation of those performances.

Prediction

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Match Preview

Poor scores from captain Virat Kohli ended up in eventual ineffectiveness for India against New Zealand. However, the return of key players like Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shikhar Dhawan from injuries give a bit of steel to the Indian team.

India have now win five of their last seven home matches against South Africa, while winning seven in their last eight home and away. The continued success of KL Rahul remains a huge asset, while India will hope that their bowlers led by Jasprit Bumrah will do the trick.

The Proteas started their re-build with a sprightly 3-0 series win against Australia just before landing here. That has certainly given wings to the Proteas to continue that winning run in India.

The emergence of players like Janneman Malan, Kyle Verreyne and JJ Smuts has given South Africa hope of continuing the trend. The consistency of Lungi Ngidi – at least three wickets in four of his last five ODIs is another major talking point for the Proteas.

Match Up

India will hope to have erased the hurt from New Zealand ODIs, as they search for a winning formula against South Africa. It won’t be straightforward for the hosts, though, considering South African teams of the old have travelled well to these parts of the world. How well does the South African batsmen adapt to the conditions could well determine the fate of this match! Furthermore, the high altitude and the bowling conditions at Dharamsala will certainly help the Proteas.

History & Statistics

  • India have lost five of their last seven home matches against South Africa.
  • India have won seven of their last eight matches against South Africa, home and away.
  • The team batting first has won the last eight bilateral H2Hs played in India.
  • The chasing side, however, has won eight of South Africa’s last 11 ODIs.
  • South Africa have won six of their last seven completed ODIs, including the last three.
  • South Africa have won eight of their last 11 ODIs played in India.
  • South Africa have won four of their last five completed ODIs under Quinton de Kock’s captaincy.

Key Players

KL Rahul has been the story of the season for India, with consistent scores of importance. His last eight ODI scores read – 102, 77, 47, 80, 19, 88*, 4 and 112 (recent).

Quinton de Kock has 784 runs against India in just 13 ODIs, with 5×100 and 1×50 during the sequence.