LIVE: AB less SA opts field; Rain, Pandey, Unadkat come in for India

The Tests went to South Africa, The ODIs were clinched by India with utmost superiority and now the action has shifted to the shortest format of the game as the three-match T20I series starts off today at Johannesburg.

India XI: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni(wk), Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jaydev Unadkat 

South Africa XI: Reeza Hendricks, JJ Smuts, JP Duminy(c), David Miller, Farhaan Behardien, Heinrich Klaasen(wk), Chris Morris, Andile Phehlukwayo, Junior Dala, Dane Paterson, Tabraiz Shamsi

Team News: Great if you are an Indian fan, exactly the opposite if you are in the South African camp. NO AB de Villiers, he misses out because of a knee injury. Klaasen and Junior Dala make their debuts.

For India, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Jaydev Unadkat and Bhuvneshwar Kumar come in. Kuldeep Yadav misses out because of a niggle.

Toss: South Africa wins the toss and opts to field first.

Pitch Report: Shaun Pollock says it's great surface to bat on. He feels the ball will come on to the bat without any lateral movement, so the batsman can hit through the line. And mind you, Wanderers has been quite a six hitting ground because of its higher altitude. Average total batting first here is 173.

The Prelude

The Tests went to South Africa, The ODIs were clinched by India with utmost superiority and now the action has shifted to the shortest format of the game as the three-match T20I series starts off today at Johannesburg.

The last time India played South Africa in South Africa was back in 2006 in a one-off T20 encounter under Virender Sehwag’s leadership which the touring team won by six wickets.

Bolstered by terrific all-round performances led by skipper Kohli, who was adjudged the Man of the Series in the recently concluded ODI series, India will hope to thrash the hosts in the three-match series.

Alongside the skipper, batsmen Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Hardik Pandya will look to make the most of their capabilities in the shortest format.

Batsman Suresh Raina, who has made a comeback in the T20Is will act as a vital cog in the middle-order and will look to prove his mettle.

The bowling department, which looked lethal with wrist-spinning duo Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav will try to make a mark in the shortest format.

Pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will only add depth to the formidable Indian bowling line-up.

However, the Proteas led by Jean-Pau Duminy in the absence of Faf du Plessis, will look to hit back at India in the shortest format of the game, under the likes of hard-hitting batsmen consisting the skipper himself, AB de Villiers, David Miller and Chris Morris, who can score some vital runs in the lower order.

The bowling department, led by Andile Phehlukwayo, Morris along with chinaman Tabraiz Shamsi will have to come out with something special in order to get rid of the flamboyant Indian batsmen.

Meanwhile, the three new faces included for the shortest format -- batsman Christiaan Jonker, pacer Junior Dala and wicketkeeper-batsman Heinrich Klaasen will be aiming to put up a show for the home team,