ICC Dream11: India v South Africa preview

South Africa have lost their first two games thus far, falling short against England and Bangladesh. Their troubles have been increased after injuries to Lungi Ngidi and Dale Steyn; the latter of which has been ruled out of the tournament, which leaves the fast bowling duties on Kagiso Rabada’s shoulders.

India, on the other hand, will be caught in two minds over their number four player. Vijay Shankar was expected to fulfill that position but there are still lingering question marks as India’s campaign gets underway. The team may well opt for KL Rahul at four, who will be high on confidence after a hundred in the warm-ups.

The clash promises to be an exciting one, with India eager to start off on a high and South Africa looking to get their first points on the board.

Predicted XI:

India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar

**South Africa:**Quinton de Kock, Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis, Rassie van der Dussen, JP Duminy, David Miller, Dwaine Pretorius, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Beuran Hendricks, Imran Tahir

Dream11 Team:

Quinton de Kock has hit 68 and 23 in his two matches but has not taken advantage of the starts so far. He has a good record against India, scoring five hundreds against them. Fresh after a good IPL, de Kock will be eager to get a good knock here. He has been a key figure in South Africa’s progress in the last few years and is ranked No.4 currently.

Rassie van der Dussen has scored 50 and 41 so far to continue his fine start to his ODI career – he averages 74 after 10 innings, having hit five half-centuries in that time. David Miller has shown off his skills with the bat and will look to play a crucial knock here.

Virat Kohli tops the ODI chart and goes into the tournament with an ODI average just shy of 60, having hit 49 half-centuries and a stunning 41 centuries in the format in his glittering career. Shikhar Dhawan has always done well in ICC events and the left-hander will want to get back to form with a fine knock here.

Hardik Pandya can be the X-factor for India in this tournament. After a ban at the start of the year, he has returned calmer, as we saw in the IPL. The Mumbai Indians star scored more than 400 runs in the IPL and picked 14 wickets to help his team win the crown. Andile Phehlukwayo would want to rise to the occasion in this big game. With other key players in the side not faring well yet, the youngster will have to raise his hands and make an impact. Jadeja has consistently done well with both bat and ball, and will look to play a good hand here.

Imran Tahir – the fourth-best bowler in the world according to the ICC rankings – has taken two wickets in each of the first two games. He can stall the runs in the middle overs and is a must-have. Jasprit Bumrah tops the ICC Men's ODI bowling charts. This match will be his 50th ODI, having taken 85 wickets in his previous 49, with an economy rate of 4.51 runs per over. Bumrah took 19 wickets at the IPL to help Mumbai Indians to victory and took three in India’s two warm-up matches for this World Cup too. Kuldeep has been one of the key bowlers for India in the last few months and can strangle the batsmen in the middle overs.