South Africa vs India, 1st ODI - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

Harsha's series preview

The number 4 roulette

If there is one spot that has been discussed a lot in Indian cricket over the last few months, it's the number four slot. It's been forever up for grabs. India initially decided to do away with the Ajinkya Rahane experiment. The likes of Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Manish Pandey and more recently, Dinesh Karthik have all had a crack at that spot. It did appear as if Karthik had cemented the spot for the time being but he wasn't even in the frame for this game. That was certainly odd and seems a little unfair on the wicketkeeper-batsman but things have gone a full circle.

India are going back to Ajinkya Rahane. Kohli did mention that with pitches not being slow in overseas conditions, they are more than happy to test Rahane again. This is a huge opportunity for the Test vice-captain after just being the backup opener for a while now. If he can come out with a pretty good knock, this debate can be put to rest. But what do you fans think? Is this the right way forward? Or have the team management been unfair on the likes of Karthik and Iyer.

Toss - SA opt to bat

As expected, Markram replaces AB at number four for South Africa. The hosts are batting very deep with Miller, Morris and Phehlukwayo slotted in at 6,7 and 8. They are also playing Imran Tahir today. Indiaon the other handhaveleft out Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik and Shreyas Iyer to go back to Ajinkya Rahane at number four. Both the wrist spinners play and Kedar returns to the XI as well.

South Africa (Playing XI): Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock(w), Faf du Plessis(c), Aiden Markram, Jean-Paul Duminy, David Miller, Chris Morris, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel, Imran Tahir

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni(w), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal

Build up

The jerseys will change but the goal remains the same. India's hunt for their first ever bilateral series win in South Africa will begin today in the 50-over format after an intriguing, drama-filled Test series. They showed tremendous spirit in the Tests and yet came out on the losing side but ODI cricket is a different ball game. It's a format that India will fancy themselves especially with a top order that is intimidating and always more than happy to express themselves.

The likes of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan can breathe easy whereas someone like Ajinkya Rahane will find himself facing a huge challenge if he gets to play. For South Africa, it is about preserving a proud home record that stretches 17 consecutive wins. No one in world cricket has ever had a run like that in this format. But India are definitely well-equipped to break it. With AB de Villiers ruled out of the first three games, the scales are definitely tilted slightly in India's favour.

The return to 50-over cricket will also help Quinton de Kock to free himself from the question marks over his form in the Tests and on the other hand, de Villiers' absence will provide Aiden Markram another opportunity to impress. Welcome to the live blog for the first ODI of this six-match series. Hopefully, we get good wickets and not boring flat decks. Tweet in your opinions to @Narbaviand have them featured on the blog.