World Cup 2019 India Vs South Africa LIVE: Action begins as mighty India face low-on-confidence South Africa at Southampton

Team India will begin their World Cup campaign against South Africa at Southampton on Wednesday. Ever since their arrival in the UK, the 'Men In Blue' have had a hot and cold outing in their two practice games. They suffered a six-wicket defeat against New Zealand but then came back well with a convincing 95-run win over Bangladesh. But, those were practice matches and come Wednesday, Virat Kohli & Co.'s skills and temperament will be tested in earnest against Faf du Plessis and his side.

Meanwhile, the Proteas will be desperate for their first win in this tournament after a huge loss at the hands of England and then going down to Bangladesh. At the same time, they will also look to overcome their injury concerns as Lungi Ngidi will not be in action for a week to 10 days due to a hamstring injury while veteran fast bowler Dale Steyn has been ruled out of the competition. 

THE HEAD-TO-HEAD:

Meanwhile, South Africa has an edge over India in World Cups as they hold a 3-1 victory margin in the four games that the two teams have played. South Africa had won in 1992, 1999 and 2011 respectively while India won their solitary encounter in 2015. At the same time, India has also been dominating the Proteas in ICC tournaments. Be it the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013 and 2017 or the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, the South Africans have not been able to stop the Indian resistance.

THE PITCH AND CONDITIONS:

The pitch at the Ageas Bowl stadium in Southampton, devoid of grass cover, is expected to be a batting-friendly but Kohli will have a few points to ponder upon as the weather forecast on match day indicates cloud cover with intermittent shower.

THE QUESTIONS:

Will a third seamer in Bhuvneshwar Kumar come into the picture? Does Ravindra Jadeja's warm-up matches' form get more credence than Kuldeep Yadav-Yuzvendra Chahal's 22-month show in tandem? Does Kedar Jadhav fit in without playing a single game for a month or Vijay Shankar gets a look in?

While all these questions will be answered at the toss, the 'Men In Blue' just cannot take it easy against a supposedly weak Proteas line-up as Kagiso Rabada's spell can create havoc in the Indian batting. Remember Mohammad Amir's fiery spell in the 2017 Champions Trophy final where India's top-order was blown away early and the then defending champions ended up losing by a big margin. At the same time, a bit of help from the weather conditions with his scorching pace and ability to move the ball, Rabada could just unsettle the opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, who haven't had the best of times during the past few months.

As far as India's number 4 slot is concerned, KL Rahul is expected to take the No. 4 slot but it needs to be seen as to how well he performs when the condition are nippy. Dhoni at No 5 will be the stabilising factor and if he bats like the Bangladesh warm-up game, he can be a nightmare for the Proteas attack.

But what will be a bigger worry for Du Plessis will be the batting where AB de Villiers' absence has surely had an impact. The poor technique of Proteas batsmen against slow bowlers have been time and again exposed and 20 overs of quality spin bowling could be too hot to handle for the South Africans.

THE SQUADS:

India: Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, K L Rahul, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Kedar Jadhav, Vijay Shankar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja

South Africa: Faf du Plessis (captain), Quinton de Kock (wk), Aiden Markram, Hashim Amla, JP Duminy, David Miller, Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada, Dwaine Pertorius, Andile Phehlukwayo, Tabraiz Shamshi, Imran Tahir, Lungi Ngidi, Chris Morris, Rassie van der Dussen.

Match Starts: 3 pm IST.

READ: World Cup 2019: You Have To Read Dale Steyn's Dad's Tearjerker Over His Son's Injury And Joke About How Kohli's Hugs Caused It, Before India Versus South Africa

ICC looks ahead to India kicking-off their World Cup 2019 campaign, asks whether Virat Kohli will repeat the feats of Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni:

Cricket World Cup has given a special tribute to Virat Kohli by using Harry Potter's reference

Indian skipper Virat Kohli talks about what makes India tick as a unit.

WATCH: As India kickstart their campaign against South Africa in a few hours, the celebrations have already started at Virender Sehwag's Cricket Academy in Najafgarh as the kids and coaches cannot hide their excitement.

WATCH: Ahead of India's ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 opener against South Africa, die-hard fans perform a havan to bring good luck for the 'Men In Blue

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated Team India for their victory.

South Africa win the toss and elect to bat first.

India begin their run chase. South African skipper Faf du Plessis starts off with spin as he gives the ball to Imran Tahir. He bowls a decent over as India are 3/0 after the first over.

Kagiso Rabada nearly deceived Rohit Sharma and had almost got his wicket only if skipper Faf had hung on to a difficult catch. Rohit leaves to fight another day. 

After 2 overs, India are 4/0.

Rohit Sharma survives yet again. He had no answer to a good delivery from Chris Morris. The ball just manages to go over the point fielder's head.

After 3 overs, India are 10/0.

Another excellent over by Rabada. He has conceded just two runs from his two balls.

After 4 overs, India are 11/0.

Rabada draws first blood for South Africa with Dhawan's wicket.

Another excellent over by Rabada. He has just conceded one run by taking up the big wicket of Shikhar Dhawan.

After 6 overs, India are 14/1.

Good comeback by Chris Morris. He has complimented Rabada well. It'a maiden over.

After 7 overs, India are 14/1.

Just what India needed. Rohit hits a six and a four off Rabada's consecutive deliveries. The Hitman finishes the over with a boundary. Expensive over from Rabada this time.

After 8 overs, India are 29/1.

Another good over from Chris Morris. He almost bowled his second straight maiden over but Virat Kohli flicked the last ball to the leg side for a couple of runs.

After 9 overs, India are 31/1.

Imran Tahir gives away just a couple of runs in his second over as he kept Rohit and Kohli at bay.

After 11 overs, India are 36/1.

Kohli's wicket puts India in trouble.

Apart from the on-field action, Indian cricket fans were also in for a treat off the field when former cricketing legends Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, and Virender Sehwag shared the commentary box.

Quinton de Kock takes a spectacular one-handed catch by diving to his right to dismiss Indian skipper Virat Kohli and bring South Africa back in the contest.

Watch the video of de Kock's stunning catch right here.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan gave his best wishes to Team India for the ongoing World Cup.

Rohit anchors Indian run chase with a patient half-century

India coming back strongly into the contest as vice-captain Rohit Sharma is still out in the middle.

After the halfway mark, India are 95/2.

Rohit Sharma anchored Indian innings when the 'Men In Blue' looked in a spot of bother after losing Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli early on. His patient 50 has kept India in the hunt in their chase of 228.

The Hitman was hailed for his vital knock by the fans.

Rahul's wicket restores South African hopes.

Rohit Sharma nearing a century and India inching closer to the target.

After 35 overs, India are 150/3.

Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni steady India's run chase.

After 39 overs, India are 168/3.

Chris Morris bowls a tidy over. Only three runs from the last two deliveries.

After 40 overs, India are 171/3. 

India need 57 runs off the last 10 overs.

Rohit Sharma becomes India's first centurion of ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.

India open their World Cup 2019 campaign with a six-wicket win over South Africa.