Cuttack, Dec 9 (UNI) South Africa captain Aiden Markram won the toss and elected to bowl in the first T20 International against India on Tuesday at the Barabati Stadium, as India skipper Suryakumar Yadav described team selection as a positive dilemma.
Calling the competition for spots a reflection of India’s bench strength, he said, “It is a very good headache to have,” while confirming that Sanju Samson, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar and Harshit Rana had missed out on the playing eleven.
Suryakumar said India had formed a strong core of T20 players across recent bilateral assignments and added that the long sequence of matches against Australia, South Africa and New Zealand would offer the team valuable preparation.
In his view, the focus remained on maintaining an aggressive approach and sustaining intensity through the contest.
“We had a good series in Australia. Now we play five T20s against South Africa and then against New Zealand, so 15 good T20s. It’s good preparation. Same thing what we’ve been doing in the last few series: be fearless, enjoy the game, and be at it for the next three hours,” he said.
Speaking about the conditions, the Indian captain admitted that the pitch had appeared greener a day earlier, creating some uncertainty during the team’s assessment.
He said dew was expected to persist throughout the season and would continue to pose challenges for the bowlers.
“Going from here on, I think that’s going to remain for a really long time. It has been there for a very long time. If we keep focusing on that, the main job will be in trouble. Let’s not think about it and have it as a challenge,” he said, expressing confidence in India’s decision to bat first.
Markram, explaining his call at the toss, said South Africa preferred chasing given the possibility of heavy evening dew. He noted that Indian conditions, especially under lights, could not be replicated back home, making the tour an important component of their build-up to global tournaments.
“There is quite a bit of dew around and it might get worse later. A lot of these games are played in the mind, and you need to get into the right frame of mind,” he said.
With South Africa opting to field, the match began under humid evening conditions with a sizeable weekday crowd in Cuttack witnessing the first contest of the series.
Teams:
South Africa (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock(w), Aiden Markram(c), Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Donovan Ferreira, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Lutho Sipamla, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje
India (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma(w), Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh
