World Cup: India bat first against South Africa at Eden Gardens; hosts unchanged, Shamsi returns to XI for SA
World Cup: India win toss and bat first against South Africa at Eden Gardens
The Indian Captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bat first in the top-of-the-table clash against South Africa at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. While the Indian Team will enter the World Cup 2023 contest with the same XI, South African skipper Temba Bavuma announced one change, bringing in Tabraiz Shamsi.
Here are the playing XIs of both teams –
India - Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj
South Africa - Quinton de Kock(w), Temba Bavuma(c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi
Batting first has more to do with team – Rohit
The crowd erupted into joy after Rohit won the toss at this favourite venue and elected to bat first.
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Being the only unbeaten team thus far in this World Cup, Rohit’s call to bat first had more to do with the team doing well than anything else.
Although both teams have qualified for the semis, this match will be for who stays on top in this high-octane game.
“Looks like a good pitch, and honestly, it's more to do with what we want to do as a team. I think it's going to be a good game with two teams at the top of the table. I love playing here, and the Indian team loves playing at this historic ground. We're playing the same team,” Rohit said at the toss.
Much like India, South Africa also wanted to bat first, given how well they have done by batting first in this tournament.
The most ruthless team (having crossed 350 several times in seven contested matches), South Africa lost their only game while chasing against the Netherlands at the HPCA stadium in Dharamsala.
“Looking at the wicket, we would've batted first, but it will be a nice challenge for us to chase. Chasing in an area where we need to get a lot more confidence. One change: Shamsi comes in for Coetzee,” Bavuma said at the toss.
