Daijiworld Media Network – Visakhapatnam

Visakhapatnam, Dec 6: After a long streak of 20 consecutive toss losses in ODIs, India finally won the toss and elected to bowl in the high-stakes third and series-deciding ODI against South Africa at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam, on Saturday.

Stand-in captain KL Rahul, along with head coach Gautam Gambhir, made a significant call to reshuffle the playing XI, dropping Washington Sundar to make way for Tilak Varma. The hosts are eager to avoid a second consecutive ODI series defeat and reclaim momentum after a hard-fought series so far.

India will rely on the in-form Virat Kohli, who has delivered back-to-back centuries in the first two matches and has a strong record in Visakhapatnam, to anchor the innings. Meanwhile, Temba Bavuma’s South Africa, seeking a series win and a clean sweep in the recently concluded Test series, will bat first in an ODI for the first time in this series.

The Proteas have also made two enforced changes due to injury, with Nandre Burger and Tony de Zorzi ruled out. They have been replaced by Ottneil Baartman and Ryan Rickelton in the playing XI.

With the series on the line, both teams are expected to produce a thrilling contest, and all eyes will be on the pitch in Vizag as the decider gets underway.