Lucknow,  Play will start in the first One-day International (ODI) match between India and South Africa at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium here at 3:45 pm after the toss takes place at 3:30 pm, said an update from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The BCCI also said that the match has been reduced to 40-overs-per-side, with each bowler to bowl a maximum of eight overs. The first power-play will be of the first eight overs, followed by 24 overs of the second power-play and the last eight overs of the third power-play if the rain stays away from the match.

Earlier in the afternoon, the toss was to take place at 2:45 pm and play was scheduled to start at 3 pm with 45-overs-per-side before rain put a stop to that plan. In the morning, because of heavy rains that lashed the capital city of Uttar Pradesh overnight, the start time of the match was pushed by 30 minutes, on the basis of an early inspection done by the umpires.

The toss for the Day/Night match which was scheduled to be held at 1 pm will now be held at 1:30 pm. The play will begin at 2:00 pm, the BCCI had said in a tweet. As per the weather sites, heavy rain has been predicted for the whole day in Lucknow with a 100% chance of precipitation.

The teams had earlier figured in a three-match T20 series that India won 2-1, triumphing in the first two matches at Thiruvananthapuram and Guwahati. South Africa won the third match played in Indore.
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In India's ODI squad, only travelling reserves 'or the Men's T20 World Cup like Ravi Bishnoi, Shreyas Iyer and Deepak Chahar will take part in the three-match series as the main squad left for Perth, Australia early on Thursday.

After the first ODI in Lucknow, the teams will move to Ranchi for the second match on October 9 and end the proceedings in New Delhi with the third match on October 11. The series is a part of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League, which will determine the teams that will be eligible for direct qualification in the 2023 ODI World Cup to be hosted by India next year.

India don't have much to worry about regarding the Super League points as they have automatically qualified for participation'in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup next year in the country on the account of being the tournament hosts. South Africa are at number eleven in the standings, with 49 points from 13 matches.