When only one squad decides to show up, there isn’t much to talk about. In both ODI games, South Africa showcased what India lacked. There were simply not enough runs to put any pressure on the Proteas. Given the way India has performed thus far, it would be intriguing to see if they can avoid a whitewash. The visitors have had a poor showing thus far, and they will be hoping to end on a positive note.
Reasons for India’s failure & where they can improve upon
- Unable to convert starts in big runs – Kl Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan both got off to a good start before squandering their wickets. The same thing happened in the first game, as both Dhawan and Kohli were dismissed for failing to convert their promising starts in the big one. South Africa, on the other hand, has made the most of its chances. In the first game, Tamba Bavuma and Rassie Van Der Dussen each got a century, while Janneman Malan and Quinton De Kock shared a 132-run partnership, making scoring at the later end simpler.
- Losing wickets in bunches – One trend that appears to be emerging is India’s loss of wickets in bunches, which has a huge impact on their run rate. They lost both Dhawan and Kohli in quick succession, and then both established batsmen Rahul and Pant later on. The same thing happened in the first ODI, which hurt their chase.
- Lackluster performance by Indian spinners – One thing that no one could have predicted is that South African spinners would outperform Indian spinners, especially after Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal wreaked havoc the previous time India toured South Africa in 2017-18. They dominated the bowling charts, taking 33 wickets at a combined average of 15.09 to help India win the six One-Day International series 5-1. Whereas, in this series, Chahal and Ashwin took 1 for 106 from 20 overs in the first ODI, while Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi, and Aiden Markram took 4 for 124 from 26 overs. On Friday, Chahal and Ashwin bowled 20 overs for 1 for 115, while Maharaj, Shamsi, and Markram bowled 26 overs for 4 for 143.
- The absence of 3rd quality fast bowler – In the seaming conditions of South Africa, the value of a quality fast bowler cannot be overstated, something India has lacked this series. Apart from the poor new ball returns, India’s lack of a third wicket-taking fast bowler in the playing XI has harmed them in this series. Shardul Thakur has been impressive with the bat but has struggled with the ball. They are compelled to play both Venkatesh Iyer and Shardul Thakur in the absence of Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar, leaving no room for Mohammed Siraj.
- Missed chances/opportunities – Indians have been quite poor in the field, with both Shreyas Iyer and Virat Kohli dropping catches in the first ODI, and Pant missing a simple stumping opportunity in the second ODI, costing them the match. These squandered opportunities were critical, as they ultimately lost the series.
- Poor show with the new ball – With the new ball, India has failed to pick wickets ever since the 2019 World Cup. In 11 innings, India’s leading bowler Bumrah has only one powerplay wicket in 43 overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar hasn’t fared much better, with three powerplay wickets in 41 overs in the same time frame. As a result, India’s bowling has been by far the weakest in the opening ten overs. They have only taken ten powerplay wickets in 23 ODIs since the World Cup. They’ve also given up the most runs per over (5.74) of any squad.
South Africa clicking all the boxes
Everything has worked brilliantly for South Africa thus far, with every one of their players contributing in some way. It has been tough for India to stop African batters from scoring. Van der Dussen has scored 166 runs without getting out. His ODI career record is even more impressive, with an extremely high batting average. Van van Dussen batted 26 times for his country in 31 One-Day Internationals, scoring 1215 runs in the process. South Africa’s all-format middle-order specialist has an ODI average of 75.94 as a result of all of this. No male player has ever averaged higher than that in 20 or more ODI innings.
Team Changes & Probable XI
Both sides will be looking to give their sidelined players a chance to play. South Africa has nothing to lose and will put other players to the test, whilst India has a lot on its plate and will be hunting for answers among the benched players.
India: KL Rahul (c), S. Dhawan, V. Kohli, S.Yadav, I. Kishan, V. Iyer, J. Yadav, N. Saini, D. Chahar, M. Siraj, Y. Chahal
South Africa: Q. de Kock, J. Malan, A. Markram, R.V.D. Dussen, T. Bavuma, D. Miller, A. Phehlukwayo, L. Ngidi, K. Maharaj (vc), W. Parnell, T. Shamsi