Toss South Africa chose to bowl vs India
30-year-old Rajat Patidar made his international debut for India in the ODI series decider at Boland Park. South Africa chose to field, remaining unchanged from the previous match.
Patidar replaced the injured Ruturaj Gaikwad, while Kuldeep Yadav was rested and replaced by Washington Sundar in the Indian team.
South Africa’s captain Aiden Markram aimed to continue their winning streak after leveling the series in Port Elizabeth and opted to bowl first, despite the hot conditions.
India’s captain KL Rahul did not mind batting first and expected the pitch to stay consistent throughout the match. He expressed his interest in batting on the improved surface.
The average first innings score in Paarl in the last three ODIs has been 291, and the pitch was expected to offer slow batting conditions, improving under the lights.
South Africa has not lost an ODI at Paarl in ten years, while India has a 7-2 record in ODI series deciders since 2019.
South Africa: Tony de Zorzi, Reeza Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Keshav Maharaj, Nandre Burger, Lizaad Williams, Beuran Hendricks.
India: B Sai Sudharsan, Sanju Samson, Rajat Patidar, Tilak Verma, KL Rahul, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar.
