Editor's Pick (ODI): India - South Africa

Well, after a wonderful winning streak we took a break and lost the fourth ODI match. It is a point to be noted that South Africa wore pink in order to raise awareness about breast cancer. Interestingly they have never lost a match in pink. And that streak they continued in their match against India in Johannesburg. And of course D&L.

So what happened at the 4th ODI? Duckworth and Lewis. (with a touch of pink). When India came in to bat, it looked like a beautiful day. For India at least. Shikhar Dhawan hunted like no body’s business. His 109 from 105 deliveries along with Captain’s 75 and Dhoni’s 42 took the score to a very good 289. With a couple of good partnerships, South Africa found it hard to restrain the total. The ECO rate of the South African bowlers did not fall below 5. It was a dull day for the home team. And then this dull day became the silver lining they wanted. Bad lighting. Interrupted play. Duckworth and Lewis. And good contribution by all the batsmen. The match was reduced to 28 overs. Target - 202. South Africa won by 5 wickets.

Heinrich Klaasen won the man of the match. His 43 off 27 deliveries. Wonder why. If anything, D&L helped their victory. Played key role. It is alright to award man of the match to a player who is not part of the winning team, yes? What do you think?

By the way, South Africa was fined for slow over rate. However, if they commit another minor over-rate breach in an ODI within a 12-month period with Markram as captain, he will face a suspension.

Moving on to the fifth ODI. Chahal had a rough day. His ECO rate was 12.35. Possibly the worst in his recent past. The rest of the bowlers too took it bad. They need to shake it off and win the match tomorrow. Big day. The men in blue are on the verge of creating history. It is time.

Despite the fact that India lost the match, I do not think there will be any change in the playing XI. Wonder if Axar Patel expects to be in. The South African squad - Imran Tahir might get the nod. No changes in the batting lineup in my opinion.

Players that need to work on their performance - Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Hashim Amla, Miller, and Markram.

The must have and reliable players include Kohli, Dhawan, Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav,

De Villiers, and Andile Phehlukwayo.

Key Players

Batsmen

AB de Villiers

David Miller

Shikhar Dhawan

Virat Kohli

Dhoni

Bowlers

K Rabada

B Kumar

Kuldeep Yadav

Y Chahal

Keep your lineup coming. This is cricket. Anything can happen. Listen to our podcast for more views.

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 !!!