Photo : Collected
India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected bat first against South Africa in the Cricket World Cup on Sunday. Both India and South Africa have already qualified for the semifinals – the top two sides in the points’ table.
India is the only undefeated side in the tournament with seven consecutive wins, and sits atop the table with 14 points. South Africa has six wins in seven games, with just the one loss to the Netherlands, and has 12 points.
The remaining two berths are still up for grabs, as is the order of qualification, which will decide the semifinal matchups. Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan and Afghanistan are the teams in contention for the last two semifinal spots.
India has fielded an unchanged team from its previous game against Sri Lanka in Mumbai, where it won by a mammoth 302 runs after bowling out the opposition for just 55 runs.
Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been ruled out of the tournament owing to a left ankle injury, with pacer Prasidh Krishna brought into the squad as replacement.
South Africa has made one change, from its previous game against New Zealand where it won by 190 runs with wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi playing for pacer Gerald Coetzee.
The pitch at the majestic Eden Gardens should be batsmen friendly, with spin coming in to play later. Dew could play a role in the evening and aid the chasing side.
Lineups:
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Lokesh Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock, Temba Bavuma (captain), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Tabraiz Shamsi, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi.
Messenger/Disha
