ODI World Cup 2023: Weather report from Kolkata ahead of the India vs South Africa game on Sunday

The 37^th game of the ODI World Cup 2023 on Sunday will be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. India and South Africa face each other with a lot on the line. The Indian team beat Sri Lanka by 302 runs on Thursday in Mumbai to qualify for the semi-finals.

South Africa has shown their ruthless side during the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023 campaign. In the 7 games played so far, the South Africans have scored 300 runs in each of the matches. The only defeat suffered by South Africa was against the Netherlands while they were chasing in Dharamshala.

Indian team comes into this game on the back of a devastating news that has hit the camp. Hardik Pandya has been ruled out of the ODI World Cup 2023 tournament after he was unable to recover from his injury. 27-year-old pace bowler Prasidh Krishna has been called up as the replacement.

Will rain play spoil Virat Kohli’s birthday celebration?

Kolkata is set to host the India versus South Africa ODI World Cup 2023 game on Sunday. The Eden Gardens ground on Saturday bore a very cloudy look as there was a huge threat of rain. On Sunday it is expected to be clear with a maximum temperature of 31 degrees and a minimum of 23 degrees.

ODI World Cup 2023 (Source-Twitter)

The pitch in Kolkata so far has assisted the bowlers who have bent their backs. There will be good pace and bounce with the new ball for the fast bowlers. This pitch could be the ideal surface for Mohammed Shami who is known for his excellent usage of reverse swing.

The spinners from both sides will come into play once the ball has gone soft with a lot of turn and bounce on offer. Considering the South Africans have shown weakness against good spinners the Indian team might be tempted to give Ravichandran Ashwin a place in the final playing XI.

Both the Indian and South African batters are known to enjoy surfaces which has a lot on offer. The likes of Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Quinton De Kock, and Virat Kohli have scored heavily during the ODI World Cup 2023 so far. On Sunday it might be a challenge for the in-form batters against quality bowling attack from both sides.

The game on Sunday is also special for one man and that is the former Indian skipper Virat Kohli. The Bengal Cricket Body is set to celebrate Virat Kohli’s 35^th birthday in grand style ahead of the game versus South Africa.