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India eyeing redemption in the ODI series vs South Africa

By Mumbai Indians

After a terrific Test Series which was a nail-biter from start to finish, we move on to the 50-over format leg of the tour. We look forward to seeing Surya back in action reunited with Bumrah. Unfortunately for us Paltan, Rohit remains injured and will not join the team to lead them which means KL Rahul will be at the helm in his stead. South Africa welcomes back Quinton de Kock to the side who retired from Tests ahead of the birth of his child citing that he wanted to spend more time with his family but is still available in limited-over cricket. However, Anrich Nortje remains unavailable.

There can be no complaints from fans about the fire shown out there by both teams be it in their skills as well as on-field antics. It’s been a cracker to watch so far and we can expect more of the same in the ODI’s. What is India’s recipe for success? Let’s find out:

Our Bounce Woes:

It’s no secret that our boys have struggled to adapt to the bouncy pitches in South Africa. The hosts have bowlers with a height advantage who hit the pitch hard and get it to rise even from a length which makes them dangerous. It’s something we expect our batters to be able to cope with. That’s the challenge that comes with playing away but it hasn’t happened yet and needs to at the earliest if we are to fare better in the ODI’s.

The Selection Headache:

With Rohit still injured, Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul are expected to open for us. However, Ruturaj Gaikwad was in imperious form during the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy and it would be considered very unfair if he doesn’t get a game on the back of those fabulous knocks. Ishan Kishan is also in the mix to open. For the middle-order, we have Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Venkatesh Iyer, and Ishan if he’s not selected as an opener. There’s stiff competition even in the bowling attack. While Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are likely starters, the other spots are up for grabs. Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Prasidh Krishna, and Navdeep Saini are vying for the seamer spot while the spin spot will be contested by Ashwin, Jayant Yadav, and Yuzvendra Chahal. Who wants to be in Dravid’s shoes right now?

Spin’s Efficacy

Ashwin was not at the peak of his powers during the Tests. He was expected to have much more of an impact especially late on during games but he picked up just two wickets through the entirety of the series. With Chahal in the mix for the ODI’s, we will likely take a gamble with the leg spinner as a more wicket-taking option. However, it’s not a given that he will be successful as well. There needs to be a conversation in the dressing room with the bowling coach about what they did wrong during the Tests and how they can address those issues now.

A look at what we did right in 2017-18:

The last time we played an ODI series in South Africa, we smashed the hosts 5-1 with our top-order batters beating them into submission repeatedly. The batters need to look at how they faced a similar bowling attack effectively back then and look into bringing those aspects into their game in the here and now.

One thing’s for sure, this series is going to be a treat for us spectators. Another interesting aspect will be how the team reacts to its new leader in KL Rahul. Some time will be required to bed everyone into their new roles. Let’s hope Lady Luck finally looks in our direction.