Sai Sudharsan debuts for India in 1st ODI of India’s tour of South Africa

India’s attacking batsman Sai Sudharsan has officially made his debut for the ODIs in the first ODI match of India’s tour of South Africa in Johannesburg. Sai will play his first match for the Indian team and has previously impressed the Cricket eternity with his impeccable batting style in the IPL as he represents Gujarat Titans. 

Sai Sudharsan has played 13 matches in the IPL as an opening batter for Gujarat Titans and has scored 507 runs with a strike rate of 137.03 with the highest score of 96. Sai has smashed half-centuries with an average of 46.09 and is expected to play a good knock in the first ODI match against South Africa.  

KL Rahul on playing the Pink ODI in South Africa 

Indian captain KL Rahul at the toss said, “No, we haven’t played since the WC final. Special day, I watched a lot of cricket on TV – the Pink ODI is a big occasion here in South Africa. Looking forward to a cracker of a game. There was a spin and it was a try, we’ll try to put pressure on them. Sai Sudharsan is debuting today. There are a few names that have played a lot of IPL cricket. Ruturaj did well, Tilak seems exciting, Sanju is always exciting. We’ve got Axar, Kuldeep who’d love to see some spin. They know what pressure is and how to handle it. They all come with IPL experience, hopefully that helps them here and they can perform to the best of their ability.”

“We are gonna bat first. Used wicket, we’d like to bat first, we are playing two spinners. It’s a fantastic day, hats off to the people. Hopefully both teams can put on a nice show for them. Burger makes his debut – special day for him. Opportunities are vital, none better than today”, said the South African captain Aiden Markram. 

SA vs IND Playing XI 

South Africa (Playing XI): Reeza Hendricks, Tony de Zorzi, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram(c), Heinrich Klaasen(w), David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Andile Phehlukwayo, Keshav Maharaj, Nandre Burger, Tabraiz Shamsi. 

India (Playing XI): KL Rahul(w/c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sai Sudharsan, Shreyas Iyer, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar.