DHARAMSALA, India (AP) — Temba Bavuma won his first toss in three games as South Africa opted to bowl against Netherlands in a rain-hit match at the Cricket World Cup on Tuesday.
The start of the game was initially delayed by an hour because of overnight and morning rain. The toss was rescheduled for 2 p.m. local time before another drizzle caused a further delay of 30 minutes.
There was more rain shortly before the game was about to start with no play so far.
No overs have yet been lost.
Dharamsala has received the season’s first snowfall in the past 48 hours, with temperatures dipping across northern India. It makes for perfect conditions to bowl first.
South Africa opened with a 102-run win over 1996 champion Sri Lanka, setting a World Cup record total in the process, and followed up with a thumping 134-run win over five-time champion Australia.
Last-place Netherlands is coming off heavy back-to-back losses to Pakistan and New Zealand.
The Proteas will still be wary of the Dutch threat, having lost to them at the 2022 T20 World Cup.
South Africa made one change, with pacer Gerald Coetzee coming in for wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi.
The Dutch also made one change with medium pacer Logan van Beek coming in for Ryan Klein in a like-for-like replacement.
The HPCA Stadium’s outfield has attracted attention at this tournament. Its patchy grass covering close to the boundary has been a cause for concern at the previous two games though both the South African and Netherlands captains didn’t express any worries in the buildup to this game.
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Lineups:
South Africa: Temba Bavuma (captain), Quinton de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Gerald Coetzee, Lungi Ngidi.
Netherlands: Vikramjit Singh, Max O’Dowd, Colin Ackermann, Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Scott Edwards (captain), Sybrand Engelbrecht, Roelof van der Merwe, Logan van Beek, Aryan Dutt, Paul van Meekeren.
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AP Cricket World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
