India have broken their extraordinary streak of 20 consecutive toss losses, with skipper KL Rahul finally calling it right in Visakhapatnam. Rahul opted to bowl first in the third and final ODI — a high-stakes series decider between India and South Africa.
Earlier at the toss, South Africa called heads, but it landed tails, ending India’s long run of misfortune.
The Proteas enter this match after a strong all-round batting display in Raipur, where contrasting half-centuries from Breetzke, Jansen, and Bosch kept them in the chase before Markram’s class and Bosch’s calmness sealed the victory. However, they are forced into changes today, with Nandre Burger and Tony de Zorzi ruled out due to hamstring injuries.
India’s batting form has been a major highlight of the series — two sublime centuries from Virat Kohli, back-to-back fifties from Rahul, a perfectly paced maiden ODI hundred from Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Rohit’s brisk fifty in the opening match. But the hosts have also faced inconsistencies: Jaiswal hasn’t converted his starts, Washington has struggled with both bat and ball, and Prasidh Krishna remains expensive despite the support from Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh with the new ball. Kuldeep Yadav picked up 5 wickets in Raipur despite bowling with a wet ball.
With no additional frontline bowlers in the squad, India are expected to field an unchanged XI.
After high-scoring contests in Ranchi (349 & 332) and Raipur (358 & 362), Visakhapatnam could once again offer a run-fest as both teams battle for the series title.
