IND vs SA Toss Update, 3rd ODI: India vs South Africa Playing 11, Captain's Quotes, Pitch Report

IND vs SA Toss, Playing 11 Update for 3rd ODI: India captain KL Rahul opted to bowl first after winning the toss against South Africa at the ACA-VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam on December 6, 2025 (Saturday).

After winning the toss, KL Rahul said: We'll bowl. We trained here last night and the feedback from the coaches was that there was dew, but it didn't come in as early as Ranchi and Raipur. We were obviously planning to bowl second, keeping our track record in mind. I don't think it's going to play such a big part like Raipur and Ranchi. But, we just want to change the total and see how we can bowl first. Yeah, it looks like a good wicket. For me and from the leadership group, we're really happy with the way we played in the last two games.

I know from the outside, 360 being chased down looks like a lot is going wrong. But considering the conditions and considering the way our teams are lined up, I think we did really well. There's a lot of positives to take and I'm really happy with the way we bowled and batted. The chat obviously has been to keep doing the same thing and stay consistent with what we're doing and stay consistent with that process. We know that the results will follow. Not many things that we're looking to change. Just trying to sharpen a couple of things in the field and the results will go our way. One change. Washington Sundar misses out and Tilak Varma comes in.

Meanwhile South Africa captain Temba Bavuma said: We would have bowled first. A good start upfront will set it up for the middle order. It's been entertaining. The crowd has come out. Hope today's another thrilling one. Two changes. Rickelton and Baartman come in. They (Burger and de Zorzi) will be out for a couple of weeks.

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna.

South Africa (Playing XI): Ryan Rickelton, Quinton de Kock(w), Temba Bavuma(c), Matthew Breetzke, Aiden Markram, Dewald Brevis, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Ottneil Baartman.

IND vs SA Pitch Report

Dew is likely to play a significant role once again in the third ODI, which could influence how the match unfolds. Another run-fest appears to be on the cards, and the team winning the toss may prefer to field first and take advantage of easier batting conditions while chasing under lights.

IND vs SA Squads

India Squad: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul(w/c), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant, Tilak Varma, Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy.

South Africa Squad: Aiden Markram, Quinton de Kock(w), Temba Bavuma(c), Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, Tony de Zorzi, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, Nandre Burger, Lungi Ngidi, Ryan Rickelton, Ottneil Baartman, Rubin Hermann, Prenelan Subrayen.