South Africa opt to bat against India

Southampton, June 5 (IANS) South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis won the toss and opted to bat against India in their World Cup fixture at the Rose Bowl on Wednesday.

South Africa have brought in Hashim Amla and Tabraiz Shamsi whereas India have left out Mohammad Shami, Vijay Shankar, Ravindra Jadeja and Dinesh Karthik from their squad for this match.

After the toss, Faf du Plessis said: We are having a bat. It is mostly because of the makeup of the side against two spinners, that's the best option. Amla is back for this game. Morris is still playing, and we're bringing in an extra spinner. We didn't have the ideal start, but we need to keep going. We need to win six games to get to the semis, we have seven games left.

Virat Kohli said: The crowd support will be massive for us. Lots of people who live here and lots who are travelling here. For us, its about keeping composure, remembering why we got the results in the last two years and continuing the same way. Bhuvi, Bumrah, Kuldeep and Chahal are all playing. When these guys and Hardik are playing along with Jadhav, we are always a strong bowling attack. I'm very excited, after so much cricket in the last two years. I couldn't be more grateful and happy.

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

South Africa: Quinton de Kock(w), Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis(c), Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Jean-Paul Duminy, Andile Phehlukwayo, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir, Tabraiz Shamsi