SA vs IND, 3rd ODI Preview: India aim for an unassailable lead at the Newlands

If this game goes for begging, India will hold an undefiable 3-0 lead, which mathematically rules out Proteas' chances of winning the series.

Published - 06 Feb 2018, 21:26 IST | Updated - 06 Feb 2018, 21:26 IST

3 Min Read

Who in the world expected India to man-handle the South Africa team in their own backyard, despite finishing the Test series with a thumping win. They did have the momentum on their side, but the way Virat Kohli and his men tackled the first two games speaks volumes of how much Indian cricket has evolved over the course of time.

Nothing is going right for the hosts after managing to win a couple of close games in the Test series. India continued their unbeaten run at Johannesburg and the first two ODIs proved to be a nightmare for them. Indian spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav are snatching all the headlines and injuries to big players ain’t doing any good to the Rainbow Nation’s predicaments.

After losing their two stalwarts AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis, they will now be missing out on the services of Quinton de Kock for the rest of the series. If this game goes for begging, India will hold an undefiable 3-0 lead, which mathematically rules out Proteas’ chances of winning the series. Aiden Markram’s first ever assignment as a skipper is only getting tougher and it’ll be interesting to see how he reciprocates.

Toss: South Africa won the toss and elected to bowl first

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni(w), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah

South Africa (Playing XI): Hashim Amla, Aiden Markram(c), Heinrich Klaasen(w), Jean-Paul Duminy, David Miller, Khaya Zondo, Chris Morris, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Lungisani Ngidi, Imran Tahir

Playing Combinations

South Africa

If ever the hosts need any source of motivation, this is the time. Tabraiz Shamsi might be making way for Andile Phehlukwayo whilst Heinrich Klaasen will be making his debut replacing the injured Quinton de Kock. Hashim Amla and Aiden Markram might be taking the opening slots with Klassen, Duminy, Zondo, and Miller will be taking the middle order responsibilities.

Their fast bowling contingent looks fierce on paper, but the Indian batsmen made a mockery of them in the first two games. Kagiso Rabada and Morne Morkel need to pull up their socks and bowl a bit more responsibly, same applies for Imran Tahir, who has more experience than his opposite side spinners Chahal and Kuldeep. Morris and Phehlukwayo are the other seam bowlers for Markram.

India

Once again, India is all set to enter the game unchanged as far as the playing XI is concerned. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan will be opening the innings with Virat Kohli and Rahane taking the number 3 and 4 spots. It’ll be interesting to see what position MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, and Hardik Pandya will be made to bat.

Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal have been outstanding and the latter managed to pick up his first five-for in ODIs in the previous outing. Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar always collaborate beautifully and these both are like two eyes for Kohli right now. Hardik Pandya and Kedar Jadhav are the other options for the Indian skipper.

Head to Head

Matches – 79, South Africa – 45, India – 31, N/R – 3

Focus will be on

Hashim Amla (South Africa)

One of the finest cricketers of this generation, Hashim Amla’s consistency across all formats tends to amaze people. But in this series, Amla has been misfiring, much to the disappointment of his fans. The 34-year-old will be hogging a lot of limelight as the focus now shifts to Capetown. The technical magician is definitely going through a rough patch, but such phases last for a little while in his career.

Rohit Sharma (India)

His opening partner Shikhar Dhawan has backed him to score big in the coming games, but Rohit Sharma needs to do something brilliant to break the shackles. The dashing batter has been finding it difficult to score in these challenging conditions. Once he gets going, India will be assured of a big score, but will he be able to do that is the conundrum.