NEW DELHI: Former India head coach Ravi Shastri never misses a chance to entertain the crowd with his signature wit. At the toss for the first ODI between India and South Africa in Ranchi, Shastri invoked the name of legendary wicketkeeper-batter MS Dhoni.

"We are in the state of Jharkhand, in Ranchi, home to the legendary Mahendra Singh Dhoni. And this is the venue for the first ODI between India and South Africa, as we come up for toss time in Dhoni-land," Shastri said, delighting fans familiar with the former captain's deep connection to the city.

Talking about the toss, stand-in South Africa skipper Aiden Markram won the toss and elected to field against India in the first match of the three-match series.

South Africa have rested skipper Temba Bavuma and spinner Keshav Maharaj.

For India, who are without regular skipper Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma will open with Yashasvi Jaiswal. The hosts have gone with three spinners and as many pacers.

Teams:

India: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Washington Sundar, KL Rahul (c&wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna.

South Africa: Ryan Rickelton, Quinton de Kock (wk), Aiden Markram (c), Matthew Breetzke, Tony de Zorzi, Dewald Brevis, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Prenelan Subrayen, Nandre Burger, Ottneil Baartman.