3rd ODI: Tilak Varma Replaces Sundar as India Opts to Bowl First Against South Africa

Visakhapatnam – After 20 attempts, India finally won the toss and chose to bowl first against South Africa in the third ODI at the ACA–VDCA Cricket Stadium.

India made one change to their lineup, with Washington Sundar making way for Tilak Varma. South Africa also made two changes: Ryan Rickelton and Ottniel Baartman were included after Nandre Burger and Tony de Zorzi were ruled out due to injuries.

Cricket South Africa confirmed on Saturday, “Burger experienced right hamstring discomfort while bowling in the second ODI on Wednesday, and de Zorzi suffered pain in the right hamstring area while batting and could not continue his innings during the run chase. Both players underwent scans on Friday, which revealed the extent of their injuries.”

India captain KL Rahul said, “We were looking to bowl first. We trained here last night, and although there was some dew, it wasn’t as heavy as in Ranchi or Raipur, so it shouldn’t play a major role. We felt confident chasing totals but decided to bowl first today. The wicket looks good, and our focus is on executing consistently, especially in the field. From our last game, there were plenty of positives despite what the scorecard might suggest.”

South Africa captain Temba Bavuma added, “We would have bowled first as well. The wicket isn’t the easiest, so our plan is to start strong, assess the conditions early, and set up a platform for the middle order. If we post a competitive total, we believe we can defend it. This series has been entertaining, and the crowd support has been fantastic. Hopefully, today will be another exciting contest. With Rickelton and Baartman coming in for Burger and de Zorzi, it’s a chance for them to step up.”

Playing XIs:

South Africa: Ryan Rickelton, Quinton de Kock (wk), Temba Bavuma, Matthew Breetzke, Aiden Markram (c), Dewald Brevis, Corbin Bosch, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Ottniel Baartman

India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul (c), Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna

With inputs from IANS