ICC T20 World Cup 2026 | South Africa opt to bat first as India leave out Axar Patel

South African captain Aiden Markram won the toss and elected to bat against India at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

This is the first match of the Super 8 stage of the T20 World Cup 2026 for both the undefeated teams.

South Africa made four changes, bringing in regulars Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller and Lungi Ndgidi into the playing XI.

Markram at the toss said: "We are going to bat first. It looks like a really good wicket - a lot drier than the previous one we came across here - so we’re not expecting that early tackiness. From the previous game, we’ve made four changes to go back to our usual XI."

Meanwhile, India remained unchanged with vice-captain Axar Patel kept out of the team as Washington Sundar gets another match -- a move captain Suryakumar Yadav described as "tactical".

I was actually looking to bat first, but it’s okay. We played here two or three days back and when they were bowling first, there was a little bit in the wicket, so why not take that advantage? It’s very harsh on Axar Patel, but we’re going with the same team - just a tactical decision, so no changes from the last game," Yadav said.

India playing 11: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan(w), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy

South Africa playing 11: Aiden Markram(c), Quinton de Kock(w), Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi