Beaming
in confidence after three consecutive wins, India will press hard to
pocket a historic ODI series when they face a depleted South Africa, who
will hope for some AB de Villiers’ magic in the fourth one-dayer at the
New Wanderers Stadium today.
With an unassailable 3-0 lead in hand,
the Virat Kohli-led outfit need just one more win in the six-match
series to claim their maiden ODI triumph on South African soil and also
cement their place atop the International Cricket Council (ICC) ODI
rankings.
Previously, India came close taking a 2-1 lead in the
2010-11 series under Mahendra Singh Dhoni, only to lose 2-3 eventually.
Going in to the fourth ODI, India’s only concern will be the consecutive
failures of opener Rohit Sharma, but not so much that Kohli will tinker
with the winning combination in the crucial game. Despite Rohit’s woes
with the willow, the top order comprising Shikhar Dhawan and Kohli came
out all guns blazing in the third ODI, with the captain registering his
34th ODI ton to lift his team to a commanding 303 even after the middle
order collapsed.
Dhawan too struck a fine half century to forge a 140-run second wicket stand that laid the foundation at Cape Town.
India’s
bowling has clicked excellently in the three matches so far, with the
wrist spin duo of leggie Yuzvendra Chahal and chinaman Kuldeep Yadav,
accounting for 21 out of the 30 wickets.
Despite practising with
local wrist spinners at Newlands, the Proteas’ batting line-up still
collapsed against the Indian spin duo, with both Chahal and Kuldeep
taking four wickets apiece. Whether this will change today remains to be
seen.
Today’s match also holds special significance for the South
Africans. It is the ‘Pink ODI’, played for the awareness against breast
cancer and for the benefit of those suffering from the disease. It was
first held in 2011, and this will be the sixth such occasion.
In
fact, the Proteas have never lost when playing in their unique pink
jersey and will hope to replicate that in the fourth game.
The hosts
will also hope for some respite after de Villiers was, on Thursday,
added to their ODI squad for the remaining three matches.
The star
batsman missed the first three ODIs owing to a finger injury he had
sustained during the third Test. However, Cricket South Africa (CSA)
will access de Villiers’ fitness on Friday afternoon – 24 hours before
the game – before taking a call on his availability for the match.
If
he is fit and available, it is expected that de Villiers will bat at
No.3 with Jean Paul Duminy dropping down to No.4. One of David Miller or
Khaya Zondo will make way for him in the playing XI. The hosts will
also expect a solid foundation from the opening due of Hashim Amla and
stand-in skipper Aiden Markram to put pressure on the Indian pace duo of
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah.
Teams:
India: Virat
Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas
Iyer, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, Mahendra Singh Dhoni
(WK), Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel,
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur.
South
Africa: Aiden Markram (Captain), Hashim Amla, Jean Paul Duminy, Imran
Tahir, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Lungisani Ngidi, Andile
Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Khayelihle Zondo, Farhaan
Behardien, Heinrich Klaasen (WK), AB de Villiers.
India’s Hardik Pandya (left) with captain Virat Kohli during the third ODI against South Africa. (Reuters)