Cricket World Cup: India fit and refreshed as Proteas pore over options

India's captain Virat Kohli during a training session. Photo / AP

There's been practice. There's been paintball. There's been a meeting with the Queen.

There hasn't been one shot in anger, though, from one-day cricket's No2-ranked team.

India's mandatory period of waiting between series means the two-time champions will be the last team to get their Cricket World Cup under way.

By the time South Africa arrived in Southampton for today's game, they had already lost two games at the tournament.

India will be fresher no doubt, ironing out any lingering niggles from the Indian Premier League, but South Africa will be desperate to win at the Rose Bowl.

India skipper Virat Kohli, the premier one-day batsman in international cricket, has kept his almost 30 million Twitter followers up-to-date with a travelogue of pictures from the gym, the game of paintball and a meeting with the monarchy.

The long wait means he hasn't needed to face the media since the tournament began last week with England's comprehensive win over South Africa.

Images of Kohli with his thumb in a cup of ice at practice on the weekend created some headlines at home, but he doused any speculation about a serious injury by batting and fielding.

He'll go into today's match with a couple of innings in unofficial warmups, scoring 18 in a loss to New Zealand and 47 in a win over Bangladesh.

While India's squad is fresh — because of a court-mandated 15 days of rest for national players between the IPL and any other series — South Africa are struggling with injuries and uncertain of their combinations. After entering the tournament with one of the most feared pace bowling attacks, they're considering whether or not to call for reinforcements.

Despite the toll, skipper Faf du Plessis didn't blame injuries for the team's defeats. "Our skill is not where it needs to be. All I can say is that we'll keep fighting."

- AP