South Africa vs India, 4th ODI – Match Predictions

Before the start of the ODI series had the loyal fans predicted a 3-0 lead for Virat Kohli & Co. after the first three games, others would have laughed it off. But as it has turned out, the Men in Blue have stream-rolled over the hosts thrice in a row and the extent of domination has been such that people are now entertaining the possibility of a whitewash.

The action now shifts to Johannesburg with the two teams set to lock horns at the New Wanderers Stadium in the Pink ODI. South Africa have not been beaten in the Pink ODIs yet and that’s something they can take heart from. However India, with the kind of form they are in, will back themselves to stretch their lead to 4-0 and seal the series.

Probable nature of the pitch

It generally happens to be a good batting deck at the Wanderers for the limited-over games and that’s why many of the Pink ODIs in the past have proved to be high scoring ones and this may as well be one of those with the dimensions of the ground not too big either.

The pitches in the series so far have been slow and sluggish, but the bounce at the Wanderers might be even which will give the batsmen the opportunity to hit their shots on the rise, something they have not been able to do so far. If it’s a flat deck and India win the toss, it’s a no-brainer they will field first as they back themselves to chase down anything with Kohli in the team and the South Africans will probably do the same if the coin falls in their favour.

Playing Combination

South Africa

They might have AB de Villiers back in the XI for this game as he has been reported to have recovered from his finger injury. In case he is available, Khaya Zondo will be the one making way for him and AB will be slotted in at no. 4 with Klaasen and Miller both going one position down to no. 5 and no. 6 respectively.

AB is one of those rare South African batsmen who have the ability to pick the wrist spinners out of their hands and he might be the solution to South Africa’s middle order woes. The 33-year-old knows the art of pacing the innings as well as anyone else in white ball cricket as he goes through his gears smoothly.

South Africa will probably want to include Morne Morkel in the XI as well. The big fast bowler was surprisingly dropped for the last game for the rookie speedster Lungi Ngidi who had a wonderful debut in Test match cricket earlier in the summer. Ngidi, however, didn’t manage to fare equally well in his first outing in ODI cricket and will have to wait for another chance in this format.

Predicted XI: Hashim Amla, Aiden Markram (C), JP Duminy, AB de Villiers, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Chris Morris, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel, Imran Tahir

India

India might have to make a forced change as Kedar Jadhav injured himself while fielding during the Cape Town game. He was in a lot of discomfort with his groin and had to go off for treatment with Manish Pandey discharging the duties for him as the substitute fielder.

Manish is most likely to be Jadhav’s replacement in the XI if the latter doesn’t get fit in time. While Manish won’t offer India anything with the ball unlike Jadhav, he is a very talented middle order batsman and is an ideal prospect for the no. 6 position.

He is an unorthodox player who opens up different angles with his slightly different technique and can be a very difficult batsman to set the field to in the slog overs. The Karnataka right-hander also has the power game and can deposit the ball into the stands when the need arises.

Apart from that, there is not much possibility of any other change in India’s XI. Everything is going well for the Men in Blue at this stage with the wrist spinners wreaking havoc on a consistent basis and the fast bowlers putting on a decent show as well.

In terms of their batting, India seem to be a bit top heavy, but they won’t be really bothered about that. There is enough potential in the middle order in the form of Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya and Virat Kohli will be backing them to come good under pressure.  

Predicted XI: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni (wk), Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal

Here is what CricTracker predicts for the game:

Probable Top Performers

Aiden Markram (South Africa) | Kuldeep Yadav (India)

Head to Head

Total games played – 80| South Africa won – 45| India won – 32| N/R – 3

Timing of the match: 04:30 pm IST, 11:00 am GMT, 01:00 pm Local Time

Broadcast Details

TV – Sony Ten 1 (English Commentary), Sony Ten 3 (Hindi Commentary)

Live streaming – SonyLIV

The prediction is for India to beat South Africa and take a 4-0 lead in the series.

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