South Africa vs India 2018: India's probable playing XI for first ODI

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Emerging from a low as deep as the Mariana Trench, the Indian team, beaten black and blue in the first two Tests, pulled one back at Johannesburg, exhibiting bravado, pluck and tenacity in the right measure, just like the mix of a three-ingredient margarita.

After the vagaries of the red-ball game, the Indian team will saunter into more familiar territory: while it will be the same white cork, coloured clothes and dazzling floodlights, it won’t be the same batting decks as the subcontinent, and the red-hot South African pacers will be licking their fingers at the prospect of throwing India on the mat once again.

For Virat Kohli, the actual test is now underway, with the mission of protecting a proud reputation against the No. 1 ranked ODI side, and the following players could be the ones chosen for the first leg of the six-part combat, set to begin at Durban:

Openers

South Africa was always going to be the real test for Rohit Sharma, and he did his reputation only harm with floundering performances in the Test series. The bat, generally made to look like a tree trunk in the shorter formats of the game, shrunk to the size of a pencil as soon as Rohit pulled on the whites.

However, back in familiar surroundings now, the onus will be on Rohit to find some form, play out the hard new ball, and prove to his critics that he can indeed survive, if not thrive, on fast, bouncy wickets outside the subcontinent.

After a dismal opening Test match in which two shocking dismissals led to his ousting for the rest of the series, Shikhar Dhawan will be under pressure - much like his opening partner - to collect some runs. The last time Dhawan played an ODI series in South Africa, he managed just 12 runs in two matches and that will need to change if India are to harbor any hopes of turning around their fortunes on this tour.

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