Tilak Varma Back in Action as India Drops Sundar for Final ODI Against South Africa

In a significant adjustment for the final ODI against South Africa in Visakhapatnam, India has opted to drop Washington Sundar in favor of Tilak Varma. Sundar, who was tried out as a batting all-rounder in the first two matches, struggled to make a notable contribution, managing only scores of 13 and 1 while also bowling seven wicketless overs. Given these performances, team management felt it was best to reinstate Varma, who returns to ODI action after a two-year hiatus. His last outing was also against South Africa in December 2023, where he netted 68 runs in four ODIs, with a personal best of 52.

Meanwhile, South Africa has also adjusted their lineup, making two changes due to injuries to Nandre Burger and Tony de Zorzi, who have been substituted by Ryan Rickelton and Ottneil Baartman, as they aim to bolster their squad for this critical encounter. Prior to the toss, India had faced a streak of 20 successive ODI toss losses, but KL Rahul turned the tide by winning this time and opted to bowl first. Rahul elaborated on the team’s practice under lights and the delayed arrival of dew, indicating that this strategy would offer them a new challenge and address previous match conditions experienced in Ranchi and Raipur.

India's squad for this match included key players such as Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, and Prasidh Krishna. On the other hand, South Africa’s lineup boasted players like Ryan Rickelton, Quinton de Kock, Temba Bavuma, Matthew Breetzke, Aiden Markram, Dewald Brevis, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, and Ottneil Baartman. This match holds great significance as both sides aim for a strong finish in the series, with India seeking a well-rounded performance and South Africa striving to navigate injuries while remaining competitive.