South Africa vs India 2018: India's probable playing XI for first ODI

Emerging from a low as deep as the Mariana Trench, the Indian team, beaten black and blue in the first two Tests, pulled one back at Johannesburg, exhibiting bravado, pluck and tenacity in the right measure, just like the mix of a three-ingredient margarita.

After the vagaries of the red-ball game, the Indian team will saunter into more familiar territory: while it will be the same white cork, coloured clothes and dazzling floodlights, it won’t be the same batting decks as the subcontinent, and the red-hot South African pacers will be licking their fingers at the prospect of throwing India on the mat once again.

For Virat Kohli, the actual test is now underway, with the mission of protecting a proud reputation against the No. 1 ranked ODI side, and the following players could be the ones chosen for the first leg of the six-part combat, set to begin at Durban:

Openers

South Africa was always going to be the real test for Rohit Sharma, and he did his reputation only harm with floundering performances in the Test series. The bat, generally made to look like a tree trunk in the shorter formats of the game, shrunk to the size of a pencil as soon as Rohit pulled on the whites.

However, back in familiar surroundings now, the onus will be on Rohit to find some form, play out the hard new ball, and prove to his critics that he can indeed survive, if not thrive, on fast, bouncy wickets outside the subcontinent.

After a dismal opening Test match in which two shocking dismissals led to his ousting for the rest of the series, Shikhar Dhawan will be under pressure - much like his opening partner - to collect some runs. The last time Dhawan played an ODI series in South Africa, he managed just 12 runs in two matches and that will need to change if India are to harbor any hopes of turning around their fortunes on this tour.

Middle-order

From the flaming wreckage that was the Indian batting in the Test series, Virat Kohli emerged unscathed, much like Daenerys Targaryen during the birth of her dragons. Kohli was the top run-scorer in the series, outplaying the likes of AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis, finishing with 286 runs at an average of nearly 48.

The only centurion in the series, Kohli is now back to the format he loves best and will be itching to give the South Africans a taste of their own medicine. Kohli averaged over 70 last year in ODIs and from the looks of things so far, that is set to increase in 2018.

One man untouched by the Protea fire is Shreyas Iyer, who did not make the Test squad. He is however back in the reckoning and should in all likelihood be thrust into the No. 4 slot. Iyer has had a sensational start to his international career, with two half-centuries in three matches thus far.

While those runs came against the mediocre - for wont of a better word - pace attack of Sri Lanka, he will now square off against the likes of Morne Morkel, Lungi Ngidi and Kagiso Rabada. Iyer though is not one to back away from a challenge. One good series and India may have found their No. 4 for the future.

A victim of India's game of musical chairs for the No. 4 slot, Dinesh Karthik must be tearing his hair out. Constantly shunted up and down the order depending on the circumstance, Karthik has been forced to adapt, and he has done that reasonably well.

He had a dreadful series against Sri Lanka at home, but hit a rich vein of form for Tamil Nadu in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, compiling three consecutive half-centuries. Karthik needs a solid outing in the first ODI or he could find himself dropped in favour of Kedar Jadhav.

Wicket-keeper and all-rounders

After a staggering start to 2017, MS Dhoni faded away somewhat toward the end, but still managed to maintain an average of over 60. One criticism levelled at the former skipper is that he has lost the ability to hit a long ball, and that he takes far too long to get going, leaving the rest of the batting line-up with too much work to do.

Pushing him up the order has eased some of the pressure and Dhoni has a lot more time to build his innings. While the search for his successor continues, Dhoni is still India's best bet heading into the 2019 World Cup.

What is it with Hardik Pandya that he can look so breathtakingly beautiful one day and so excruciatingly painful the next? A blistering 93 in the first Test had fans and selectors beaming with pride, but awful dismissal after awful dismissal in the subsequent innings had the very same people clamoring for his head.

Pandya is known to be suspect against the swinging ball at pace and that was clearly evident in the Test series. Another string of failures could well see the back of him, but then again, he remains India's best all-rounder at the moment.

Spinner

With India's search for Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja's successors on, Yuzvendra Chahal seems to have made the selectors' jobs that much easier with his performances in 2017. Chahal ended the year with consecutive four-wicket hauls against Sri Lanka and, fresh off the news that he has been retained by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for the 2018 IPL, will be raring to take the attack to the South Africans on their turf.

Pacers

The second coming of Bhuvneshwar Kumar has taken everyone by surprise, possibly even the 27-year-old himself. Adding a touch of pace without compromising on his trademark swing, Bhuvneshwar has become one of the most lethal bowlers on the planet.

He was by far India's best bowler in the Test series, picking up six wickets in the first Test and returning in the third to scalp four after being inexplicably dropped for the second game. He also proved to be a thorn in the South African flesh with his improved batting skills, contributing useful lower order runs to swell India's total in both games.

With a woefully out-of-form Quinton de Kock manning the top-order for South Africa, Bhuvneshwar will be itching to begin proceedings at Durban.

Jasprit Bumrah was handed his Test cap in the first game of the series, and he promptly dismissed AB de Villiers to justify his selection. He finished with 14 wickets, proving he is far from a one-trick pony.

In limited-overs cricket, he has improved leaps and bounds over the past year, with his yorker unplayable and action unreadable. Bumrah troubled most of the South African batsmen with his slingy action in the Test series and will be looking for much of the same in the ODI leg as well.

With a character that can be described as volatile at best, the beauty and the beast versions of Mohammed Shami were on full display in the Test series. He ended as India's leading wicket-taker in the series and with conditions likely to aid him at Durban, will get the nod in the first ODI.