South Africa vs India, 6th ODI – Match Predictions

After pulling one back on the Pink Day at the Bullring, team South Africa put on another mediocre performance at St. George’s Park in the 5th ODI on Tuesday and suffered a humiliating 73-run loss to concede an unassailable 4-1 lead in the series. Now the 6th will only be a battle of pride for the hosts as they will want to finish it on a high and reduce the margin of the series defeat to 4-2 rather than 5-1.

India, on the contrary, will be keen to impose complete authority on the series by making it 5-1. The action shifts back to the SuperSport Park, Centurion where the second game of the series was played. However, for a change, this will be a day-night game, unlike the 2nd ODI which was a day fixture.

Probable nature of the pitch

India have so far played two games at the SuperSport Park on this tour and both times, the pitch has been as subcontinental as it could possibly be. The pace has been gentle in comparison to the normal standard of the South African pitches and the ball has gripped and turned surprisingly.

If it’s a brown surface again, none of the two teams will want to make the mistake of batting second because the pitch will only deteriorate with the game moving ahead as it did in the last game at St. George’s Park which was also on the drier side. The captain winning the toss should bat first.

Playing combination

South Africa

South Africa made an interesting decision last game replacing an all-rounder with a specialist bowler which weakened their already struggling batting line-up even more and elongated their tail quite a bit. Yes, it was a forced change as Chris Morris had a stiff neck, but they had other options in the squad. They could have played Farhaan Behardien who would have been a good option with the bat in the middle order and could have filled that 5th bowler’s quota along with JP Duminy.

If Morris doesn’t get fit for the 6th ODI, Behardien might be slotted into the XI and Morne Morkel might have to make way for him. That will push Andile Phehlukwayo down at 8 which is probably the ideal batting position for him considering he is more of a smacker of the ball than a proper batsman, especially against the spin bowling.

The rest of the South African XI should remain the same. Lungi Ngidi justified his place last game with a 4-wicket haul at a crucial juncture which allowed South Africa to restrict India below 300. Tabraiz Shamsi, another debatable selection, did well too. Although he didn’t get a wicket, he troubled the Indian batsmen and went through his 10-overs with a decent economy rate. Both Ngidi and Shamsi are likely to be persisted with.

Predicted XI: Hashim Amla, Aiden Markram (C), JP Duminy, AB de Villiers, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Farhaan Behardien, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lungi Ngidi

India

There might be a couple of changes in the India XI as they have already won the series. Manish Pandey has been warming the bench much to the frustration of the Indian fans and they might finally get to see the Karnataka right-hander in action on Friday as he is expected to replace Shreyas Iyer.

While Iyer wasn’t that bad with the bat at St. George’s Park, his performance on the field was horrible to say the least and it wasn’t just about the last game, even in the 4th ODI he dropped a vital catch of David Miller which proved to be the difference in the end.

Knowing Virat Kohli and how significant an emphasis he places on fielding and for the players to be switched on all the time on the field, it’s very much possible that he will drop Iyer purely for his fielding lapses, even though it might be slightly harsh on the young man.

Also, India will probably like to rest Bhuvneshwar Kumar who has done his part in the series so far and if that happens, Mohammed Shami will come in as the like for like replacement. Shami has been one of India’s premier bowlers in red ball cricket in the recent times, but in white ball cricket, he hasn’t done justice to his potential and if picked, he will have a point to prove in the 6th ODI.

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

Here’s what we, at CricTracker predict will be the final result:

Probable Top Performers

Hashim Amla (South Africa) | Jasprit Bumrah (India)

Head to Head

Total games played – 82| South Africa won – 46| India won – 33| 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 in this match and win the series 5-1.

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