South Africa vs India, 6th ODI- India Predicted XI

Being the hosts, South Africa came into the series as favourites. Moreover, India hadn’t won a bilateral series in South Africa owing to which the odds were heavily stacked against Virat Kohli’s men. However, they rose to the occasion and thumped the hosts. They won four out of five games thus far and bagged the series with one game remaining.

The batsmen were erratic at stages, however, the bowlers stood up to their task and bamboozled the Proteas. Going into the inconsequential game at the SuperSport Park in Centurion, India would wish to draft in their benched players into the squad. Let’s take you through India’s predicted playing XI for the upcoming game on the 16th of February.

Openers (Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma)

The openers in Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan are likely to retain their position in all probability. Shikhar has been in prime form throughout the duration of the bilateral series. On every occasion, the Delhi cricketer has taken India off to fliers by taking on the opposition bowlers. He has also scored a stupendous ton at the Wanderers in Johannesburg.

Rohit had a mediocre run with the bat in the opening four games with a procession of low scores. However, to his relief and to the delight of the Indian team, the Mumbai batsman gained back his touch in Port Elizabeth. He stormed to his 17th century in ODI cricket and laid the platform for a blistering finish. Both batsmen will be looking to replicate their form and help India to another victory.

Middle-order (Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni (wk))

The middle order has no dearth of talent, however, India might want to rope in Manish Pandey in place of Shreyas Iyer. The Mumbai batsmen replaced Kedar Jadhav after three games but was unable to latch on the opportunities. Virat Kohli will again be the key for India at number three. Team India will again look up to the stalwart to deliver the goods with the willow.

Ajinkya Rahane shone in the first game at the Kingsmead, however, hasn’t quite replicated the touch in the games thereafter. Nevertheless, bearing in mind India’s number four conundrum, the team management is likely to persist with the Mumbai batsman. Pandey hasn’t got an opportunity in the series and would want to make the most of the chances, provided he gets a game in Centurion.

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All-rounder (Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel)

Axar Patel could join Hardik Pandya for the sixth and final encounter. The all-rounder might replace Yuzvendra Chahal who has been one of India’s gun bowlers in the series. Meanwhile, the left-hander is no mug with the willow and can lend depth to India’s batting lineup. The Gujarat born cricketer can undoubtedly be a handy addition to the XI for the dead-rubber.

Pandya hasn’t had an overly outstanding series, both with the bat and ball. He has struggled throughout with the willow. Nevertheless, with the ball, he has sparked flashes of brilliance. He was wicket-less for three games. At Port Elizabeth, Pandya nipped out a couple of crucial wickets to set South Africa on the back-foot. The team would be hoping for Pandya to deliver an all-round performance.

Bowlers (Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah)

The bowlers have been the primary reasons why India have humbled the Proteas in their own den. Apart from the fourth game in Johannesburg, they have always been able to get a stranglehold on the batsmen. That said, the team management would want to give an opportunity to Mohammed Shami who has been exceptional in the Test format.

Jasprit Bumrah hasn’t grabbed the headlines, however, he has been able to churn out economical spells to restrict the top order batsmen early and then keep things quiet in the last part of the inning. Kuldeep Yadav has arguably been India’s standout bowler in the series. The hosts have struggled to decipher his guile and trajectory. The chinaman bowler would wish to end the series with another impressive show.

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