India beat South Africa by eight wickets in the first ODI of the three-match series played at New Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Sunday (December 17). In the series opener, the KL Rahul-led side dismissed Proteas for 116 runs in 27.3 overs after Aiden Markram won the toss and opted to bat first. For India, Arshdeep Singh picked up five wickets for 37 runs in 10 overs, and four batters were dismissed by Avesh Khan, who conceded 27 runs in eight overs.
India chased down the target of 117 runs in 16.4 overs for the loss of two wickets to win the first ODI by eight wickets. For India, debutant Sai Sudharsan remained unbeaten on 55 runs from 43 balls, and Shreyas Iyer scored 52 runs from 45 balls. The duo added 88 runs for the second wicket. But after playing an impressive knock for the Men in Blue in the series opener, Iyer will now miss the next two ODIs, which are scheduled to take place on Tuesday (December 19) at St George's Park in Gqeberha and on Thursday (December 21) at Boland Park in Paarl.
Iyer was picked up for the three ODIs, but on Saturday (December 16), BCCI updated its squad and released Iyer from the ODI team. He will now join the Test unit and play in the three-day inter-squad match ahead of the start of the two-match Test series between India and South Africa. The first Test will be played from December 26 to 30 at SuperSport Park in Centurion, whereas Newlands in Cape Town will host the second Test from January 3–7, 2024.
Iyer is an integral part of the Indian Test team and is all set to bat in the No. 5 position for India. Iyer’s last Test for India was against Australia in March 2023.
In the absence of Iyer, one of Rajat Patidar or Rinku Singh will make their ODI debut for India on Tuesday. Iyer batted at No. 3 in the series opener, and Patidar will be a like-for-like replacement for Iyer, but if Rinku Singh gets preferred over him, then there’s a high possibility that Tilak Varma will bat at No. 3, followed by KL Rahul at 4, Sanju Samson at 5, and Rinku at 6.
