The South African captain JP Duminy won the toss and elect to field first in the first Twenty-20 Internationals against India.
Duminy: “We will bowl first. It is easier to chase in a day game. It’s difficult to defend in the Highveld. AB de Villiers is not playing today. He hurt his knee in the last game, so we want to rest him. Klaasen, Junior Dala are playing.”
South Africa (Playing XI): JJ Smuts, Reeza Hendricks, Jean-Paul Duminy(c), AB de Villiers, Farhaan Behardien, Heinrich Klaasen(w), Chris Morris, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dane Paterson, Junior Dala, Tabraiz Shamsi
Kohli: “We wanted to bowl as well, wanted to chase down the target. But this is a gun wicket, it’s hard, even grass cover on it, so should play good throughout. Suresh Raina is back in the team, Manish Pandey, Unadkat is playing in place of Kuldeep who hurt his thumb in the last game, Bhuvi return. The intensity needs to be much higher in the T20 format. The mood is great in the dressing room. We are looking forward to do well. The guys are very relaxed.”
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, MS Dhoni(w), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah