I think I have said
enough and more about our absolutely fantastic performance in the tournament so
far. Do look it up here if you have missed it. Now moving on the fourth ODI match of the tournament. India is
looking fabulous. We have to make sure that it does not go to our heads. If
things click, we win our first series in South Africa. With Virat Kohli being
called Superman and all by Legendary Amarnath, we do have a lot of hopes pinned
on this team. Former India captain Sourav Ganguly believes that Virat Kohli can
be clubbed in the same pedigree as the famed batting quarter of Sachin
Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Virender Sehwag. I have always seen a
lot of Ganguly in Kohli. It is not just his amazing control and his ability to
adjust but also the energy and intensity he brings to his batting in each and
every innings."
On the team news, Ab
de Villiers is back. The South African team will be slightly relieved at having one of the injured players back. It
has been a nightmare for them with players dropping like flies. It is good to have one of them back in the
squad, especially since the morale of the boys is down having lost the first
three ODI matches.
The wrist-spinning
pair of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, who like Kohli have had a profound
impact on India. To get 21 of the 30
wickets is more than just about physical data. The emotional and psychological
impact on the batsmen when these bowlers take over is the ultimate effect. The
pace is not doing too bad either. This combination of spin and pace is adding a
lot of pressure to the South Africans. They did lose all 60 wickets in their
three test matches. They can’t forget that in a hurry.
The Proteas need to
keep an eye on the revolution of the ball. The mental battle between the Indian
Spinners and the South African batsmen will be quite entertaining, I tell you.
De Villiers and Kohli are on the same team at IPL. He will have an idea as to
how the Indian Captain works. That should work to his advantage. If he makes
use of it.
Morne Morkel was
benched in the third ODI. That was a surprise. Along with Farhaan Behardien and
Shamsi. The captain might consider bringing these three players back in the
squad to give the SA team a chance. It is not an easy call because that would
mean bringing other players to the bench. But seeing as the current team has not been cutting it, tough calls are what is needed.
Team India sees no
change, obviously. Why rock that boat, eh?
South Africa squad
for last three ODIs: Aiden Markram (c),
Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, Aiden Markram, David
Miller, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Lungisani Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso
Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Khayelihle Zondo, Farhaan Behardien.
Key Players
Virat Kohli
MS Dhoni
Shikhar Dhawan
A Rahane
Aiden Markram
JP Duminy
Chris Morris
Bowlers
Y Chahal
J Bumrah
Lung Ngidi
B Kumar
South Africa [SA]
Probable Playing 11 :
Hashim Amla, Heinrich
Klaasen (wk), Jean-Paul Duminy, David Miller, Imran Tahir, Aiden Markram,
Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, AB de Villiers, Andile Phehlukwayo
India [IND] Probable
Playing 11 :
Virat Kohli (c),
Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, MS Dhoni, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah,
Hardik Pandya, Ajinkya Rahane, Yuzvendra
Chahal, Axar Patel/ Kedar Jadhav, Kuldeep Yadav
What do you think? Do
listen to our podcast for more views. We are proud to share this new feature
with you.
Indu
P.S. Please note that
the above-expressed opinions are purely the Editor’s. We do not take
responsibility, nor
can we guarantee the performance of the players. All the best !!!
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