New Delhi: Virat Kohli-led team India would look for a much improved performance after their dismal outing against the Kiwis, when they take South Africa in the first ODI of the three-match series at the HPCA Stadium on Thursday.

India and South Africa have had contrasting fortunes in their last ODI assignments. While the Proteas clean swept a strong Australia team in the three-match ODI series at home - their first win in seven series across formats since the 2019 World Cup -- India succumbed to a humiliating defeat by the same margin in their three ODIs against the Kane Williamson-led Kiwi team

Dharamsala Weather Report

With the series opener being hosted at Dharamsala, all eyes would be on how will the weather play out at the venue nestled among the Dhauladhar ranges where rain is always a threat to the game. The forecast does not seem to bright for the match as dark clouds loom large over the skies in Dharamsala. There are high chances of rain causing interruptions to the match both in the afternoon and evening.

'Mostly cloudy with a little rain' is the prediction for Thursday afternoon while there will be 'a couple of evening thunderstorms' in Dharamsala on March 12, according to AccuWeather. With the rain likely to fall in , there are chances of a shortened match with the full quota of 100 overs seeming a bleak possibility.

The last time the two teams faced off in an international match at Dharamsala in September 2019, the T20 was abandoned due to heavy rain. The 1st ODI between India and South Africa is scheduled to start at 1:30 PM IST. While the toss is expected to happen on time, there are chances of showers in the afternoon.

The hosts will be without the services of Rohit Sharma who is still battling a calf injury, thus putting extra responsibility on skipper Virat Kohli who had a horrible New Zealand tour -- one of the main reasons why India failed to win the ODIs and the Tests against the Black Caps.

IND vs SA 1st ODI: India Squad
Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Virat Kohli (c), KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Shubman Gill.

IND vs SA 1st ODI: South Africa Squad
Quinton de Kock (c & wk), Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, Faf du Plessis, Kyle Verreynne, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Jon-Jon Smuts, Andile Phehlukwayo, Lungi Ngidi, Lutho Sipamla, Beuran Hendricks, Anrich Nortje, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Janneman Malan.