India are all set to take on South Africa in the marquee clash of the Cricket World Cup 2023 on November 5. The match will be staged at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, beginning at 2:00 PM IST. With players from both sides on top of their games, it may well prove to be challenging to pick a perfect XI for fantasy cricket players that will fetch them maximum points. The Indian cricket team is the only unbeaten side remaining in the tournament with seven wins out of seven. They registered a massive 302-run win over Sri Lanka when they took the field last time out.
Meanwhile, the Proteas have won six and lost one of their seven matches so far. They defeated New Zealand by 190 runs in their last match as the wicket-keeper batter Quinton de Kock notched the fourth century of the tournament.
As far as head-to-head match-ups in ODIs are concerned, the two teams have faced each other on 90 occasions, with South Africa emerging victorious in 50 matches. The tide turned in favour of India on 37 instances whereas three encounters concluded with no result.
IND vs SA fantasy XI World Cup 2023
Wicket-keepers: Quinton de Kock
Batters: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Rassie van der Dussen, Virat Kohli
Bowlers: Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Gerald Coetzee
All-rounders: Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen, Ravindra Jadeja
It's a 6:5 combination with Indian players edging ahead in terms of selection.
Quinton de Kock will be the only wicketkeeper in the side. The southpaw has been in fantastic form, scoring 545 runs in just seven matches so far, including four centuries. Moreover, he can be a valuable source of points through catches, stumpings and run-outs.
South Africa's Heinrich Klaasen and India's KL Rahul can be considered as well, depending on which team will be batting first.
Among batters, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Rassie van der Dussen and Virat Kohli have made the cut.
Indian captain Rohit Sharma has been in stellar form in the Cricket World Cup 2023, amassing 402 runs in seven matches. Furthermore, his famous 264-run knock against Sri Lanka in 2014, which is the highest-ever individual score in ODI history, came at the Eden Gardens.
Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli are the other Team India batters in the fantasy XI. While Virat Kohli is an obvious pick given his impeccable recent run of form, Shubman Gill's return to form makes him too good to be left out.
Rassie van der Dussen will be the lone batter from South Africa. The right-handed batter has scored 353 runs in seven innings at an average of 50.42.
Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen and Ravindra Jadeja will be the trio of all-rounders in our fantasy XI for the upcoming contest.
Aiden Markram's ability to play an explosive innings and score at a faster rate can get us valuable points. Marco Jansen, who is among the leading wicket-takers in the competition with 16 scalps, is a straightforward pick in the team.
Ravindra Jadeja, meanwhile, can produce points in all three departments, especially if India bats first. He has an overall tally of 423 points and is available at a reasonable price.
The bowling line-up will have the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami and Gerald Coetzee.
India's pace sensation Jasprit Bumrah has made a superb comeback from injury, bagging 15 wickets in seven innings in the ongoing competition. On the other hand, Mohammad Shami has grabbed the headlines in all the three matches he has featured in, registering one four-fer and two five-wicket hauls.
Gerald Coetzee completes our fantasy XI. The right-arm seamer has claimed 14 wickets in six innings at an average of 6.85. For the ones looking for an alternative to Coetzee, Kagiso Rabada can be a good fast-bowling option.
Captain: Quinton de Kock
It will be a tough choice between Quinton de Kock and Virat Kohli for the captain's armband. However, the former edges ahead courtesy of his breathtaking form with the willow. The wicket-keeper batter also has a terrific record versus India in ODIs, recording six centuries and two fifties while averaging 56.42 in 19 matches.
Vice-captain: Mohammad Shami
With Shami wreaking havoc with the ball, it becomes almost impossible to ignore him for the position of vice-captain. In the four ODI face-offs of his career against the Proteas, the pacer has recorded 3/68, 3/48, 3/69 and 2/30 and will look to put in a similar performance on Sunday.