India A vs South Africa A, 1st unofficial One Day, Preview – Chance for India’s fringes to impress ahead of Proteas series

Manish Pandey will be leading the home team in the first three matches.

Published - 28 Aug 2019, 10:57 IST | Updated - 28 Aug 2019, 10:57 IST

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South Africa’s tour of India starts on September 15. But prior to that the A teams will be playing a five-match unofficial One Day series. All the games will be played at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. The opening game of the series is set to be played on Thursday, August 29. Recently, the India A team thumped West Indies A by a margin of 4-1 in the List A format.

Though the senior team will play a T20 International series, it’s still a chance for the non-regular Indian players to come into the eyes of the selectors with some impressive performances. Manish Pandey will be captaining the side for the first three matches. Shreyas Iyer will return as the captain for the last couple of encounters. For South Africa A, Temba Bavuma will be in charge.

Playing Combinations

India A

The team consists of a number of players, who have represented the national team in the last few months. Shubman Gill is in the form of his life and is only going from strength to strength. Along with Gill, Gaekwad was one of those who did well in the Caribbean. Manish Pandey got his chances in the T20I series versus the Windies and he’ll be looking to get runs in order to stay in contention.

Vijay Shankar, who recovered from the toe injury, will be keen to perform as well. Ishan Kishan needs to show a bit more consistency in order to give Rishabh Pant a run for his money. Deepak Chahar will be high on confidence after getting the Player of the Match award in the final T20I. Yuzvendra Chahal has had to warm the bench in recent times and he can’t afford any complacency.

Probable XI

Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Anmolpreet Singh, Manish Pandey (C), Vijay Shankar, Ishan Kishan (WK), Shivam Dube, Krunal Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Deepak Chahar, Khaleel Ahmed

South Africa A

As far as the visitors’ squad is concerned, there’s no lack of experience. Theunis de Bruyn may not have shown consistency at the highest level, but his domestic numbers suggest that he won’t be an easy hurdle to overcome. Reeza Hendricks didn’t make the World Cup squad and has also been poor for the Lions of late. He needs to find his form and stake his claim back into the national team.

Heinrich Klaasen was recently called up to the Proteas Test squad, replacing Rudi Second. He will want to score some runs before the international fixtures. George Linde has been excellent in the domestic circuit and is a key figure in the lineup. He will share the spin-bowling mantle with Bjorn Fortuin. The pace bowling unit is a power-packed one with the likes of Nortje, Beuran and Dala in it.

Probable XI

Janneman Malan, Reeza Hendricks, Theunis de Bruyn, Temba Bavuma (C), Kyle Verreynne, Heinrich Klaasen, Bjorn Fortuin, George Linde, Junior Dala, Beuran Hendricks, Anrich Nortje.

Focus will be on

Shubman Gill- (India A)

Shubman Gill has grown leaps and bounds in the last few months. After making his debut in New Zealand, he missed out on a World Cup berth. But he has come back stronger and recently plundered runs in the One Day series against the West Indies A. It goes without saying that he has turned into a reliable force at the top of the order and the eyes will be on him in the series.

Anrich Nortje- (South Africa A)

Anrich Nortje burst on to the scene earlier this year and bowled with fire. The speedster also drew praises from Dale Steyn. The performances not only earned him a national call up, but also a contract in the IPL. He was also included in the World Cup squad, but a broken thumb on his right hand ruled him out for both of them. It’s now time for him to step up and get back his rhythm.