Centurion ODI: Upbeat India look to dominate du Plessis-less side

Centurion [South Africa], Feb. 03 (ANI): Fresh from their Durban ODI victory, India will face South Africa in the second of the six-match series at the Supersport Park here on Sunday.

The Virat Kohli-led side will look to extend the series lead to 2-0 and correct the ordinary record in bilateral ODI cricket in South Africa while the hosts will aim to not let their side suffer due to the ruled out injured players.

Neither swashbuckling batsman AB de Villiers nor regular skipper Faf du Plessis will play in the Centurion. Du Plessis has been ruled out for the remaining series and T20Is due to a figure injury, while de Villiers will not be present for two more matches.

South Africa opening batsman Aiden Kyle Markram will be the stand-in skipper for the team in the absence of the injured skipper.

India have never won an ODI series in South Africa, but they started the series on a good note as they thrashed the hosts by six-wickets to end the latter's 17-match winning streak at home.

Also, the Kohli-led side have not lost a single series in this format in the past two years, which might also serve as motivation for them.

If India win the series, they will also clinch the number one spot in the ICC ODI team rankings.

Squads:

India: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur.

South Africa: Aiden Markram (c), Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock (wk), JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Farhaan Behardien, Heinrich Klaasen, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Khayelihle Zondo. (ANI)