One team is coming off an incredible high. The other seems to have sunk into crisis. Both of them will have to park all that come Sunday, when India host South Africa for the first of three ODIs in Ranchi. The switch from red-ball grind to white-ball bash throws up a lot of fun stuff, including but not limited to...
Jaiswal's opportunity...?
Yashasvi Jaiswal has played 52 matches for India over the past two years but only one of those has been an ODI. This is because he is a top-order batter, and India are so full-up on those. Easier to trap lightning in a bottle than bumping Virat Kohli or Shubman Gill or Rohit Sharma out of an ODI line-up.
Circumstances conspired to hand Jaiswal his ODI debut in February this year - one of the big three was injured, which is the case again now, with Gill out. Do well and he'll stay in rotation as the reserve opener. Do not so well and who knows. There's already Ruturaj Gaikwad in this squad nipping at Jaiswal's heels. It's a tricky situation for a 23-year-old.
Bavuma's return
A full-strength South African ODI squad is teeming with top-order riches too, particularly with Temba Bavuma back among them. Forty-seven of his 51 ODI innings have come in the top three, and it seems likely that he'll slip into the opening position to play alongside Quinton de Kock.
The two work well together, putting on 1072 runs at an average of 56.42 as openers together, which is considerably higher than any other first-wicket partnership for South Africa (minimum five innings) in 50-overs history. They led the line-up the last time South Africa played ODIs in India, during the 2023 World Cup, after which de Kock retired, severely underestimating his FOMO. Now that he is back, prepare yourself for Quimba. Or maybe deVuma? Yeah, we'll keep workshopping.
Arshdeep's ODI challenge
Arshdeep Singh has played only 11 ODIs. Six of them were on tours with a second-string side captained by Shikhar Dhawan in 2022, and KL Rahul in 2023. Those 11 games fold into a List A career that has seen just 39 matches.
India have had a tough time getting the most out of Arshdeep. But they know they can't keep sleeping on him, not with an ODI World Cup in pace-friendly African conditions. A battle-hardened left-arm quick who can swing the white ball will come in very handy in 2027.
SA quicks to crank it up
South Africa will be rifling through their own stock of seam bowlers, with Kagiso Rabada and Gerald Coetzee's bodies rebelling against them for spending all their time hurling small objects at 150kph.
The focus shifts from the front men to the rest of the band on this tour, and they're not short on pulling power. Lungi Ngidi (with his variations), Nandre Burger (with his left-arm angle), and Corbin Bosch (with his raw pace) offer the kind of skills that sets a team up to take wickets at virtually every stage of an ODI.