SA win toss, elect to bowl in Champions Trophy

CARDIFF: South Africa's captain AB de Villiers won the toss and sent India in to bat in the opening match of the Champions Trophy in Cardiff on Thursday.

The Proteas, choosing to bowl in overcast conditions, were as expected without the services of premier fast bowler Dale Steyn due to a side strain suffered during a warm-up match. Colin Ingram will open the batting for the S. Africans

India went in with five frontline bowlers, two of them spinners in Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, and promoted Rohit Sharma to open the batting.

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh
Raina, Dinesh Karthik, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma.

South Africa: AB de Villiers (capt), Hashim Amla, JP Duminy, Faf du
Plessis, Colin Ingram, Rory Kleinveldt, Ryan McLaren, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Robin Peterson, Lonwabo Tsotsobe. (AFP)