History made, India move on to iron out chinks

Overview

South Africa v India

Centurion, Gauteng

6th ODI

Friday 16 February, 13:00 local time; 11:00 GMT

India’s victory in the fifth one-day international in Port Elizabeth was historic, what with it being their first bilateral series victory in South Africa. The 73-run win gave them a 4-1 lead in the six-match series, but made the final ODI at the Centurion on Friday (16 February) a dead-rubber.

So where do they go from here? For India, this has been a series of positives. Virat Kohli continues to turn anything he touches into runs. With 429 in the series so far at an average of 143, he is head and shoulders above the rest of the pack, from either side, and he has furthered talk of him being a potential GOAT.

Then there is the spin-duo. The rise of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal has perhaps been the most impressive, important development for India this series. With 16 and 14 wickets respectively, the two wrist-spinners have flummoxed batsmen away from home, and that they have managed grip and turn in conditions that are usually suitable for pacemen means India have an added edge going forward.

While Kohli and the wrist-spinners have, largely, led India’s charge to the history books, they have also shadowed some areas of concern. India’s middle order hasn’t looked in great shape, especially in the last two ODIs. Both times, they failed to capitalise on good foundations laid by the top three. The scoring rate has dipped each time after the top order was nipped out, meaning India haven’t been able to power on in the death overs.

In the pace department, Bhuvneswar Kumar seems to be struggling for form. Jasprit Bumrah, his partner, has claimed six wickets so far in the series – the most by any paceman from either side, along with Lungi Ngidi. But Bhuvneshwar, having impressed in the Tests in Cape Town and Johannesburg, has just two so far. It’s no crisis; form will fluctuate, and on a series dominated by spinners, he certainly timed his blip well.

For South Africa, there is not much to do but move on. They were outplayed by India for large parts in this series, but they weren’t helped by the injury list. Both Quinton de Kock and Faf du Plessis remain sidelined, while AB de Villiers missed the first three ODIs. They will hope to finish the series with a victory, which will come as a timely boost ahead of the three-match Twenty20 International series.

Key players

Lungi Ngidi (South Africa): As far as breakthrough series go, this has been near perfect from Ngidi. He burst onto the scene during the Test series, with 6/39 in Centurion on debut. He’s then gone on to prove that’s no one-off. He returned 4/51 in Port Elizabeth, running through India’s middle order and claiming the important wicket of Rohit Sharma, the centurion. He is currently the most successful paceman in the series, along with Bumrah, and he will relish the opportunity to further trouble India at the same venue where he made his terrific Test debut.

Hardik Pandya (India): There haven’t been many displays of the all-rounder’s explosive batting or his crucial wicket-taking bowling so far this ODI series. His sequence of runs reads 0, 0, 14, 9, 0. His explosiveness has been missed in the middle order, with India slowing down after a good start. Further, he has picked up just three wickets so far. However, Pandya still manages to influence the game with his fielding – his excellent run-out of Hashim Amla was the turning-point of the fifth ODI. In the final match, the time is ripe for him to find form in other departments.

Conditions

It’s expected to be cloudy in Gauteng on Friday with scattered thunderstorms around that could affect the match. The second ODI of the series was played at this venue, when South Africa were bundled out for 118 – their lowest ODI total at home. The pitch aided turn that day.

Squads

South Africa: Aiden Markram (capt), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Khaya Zondo

India: Virat Kohli (capt), Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shikhar Dhawan, MS Dhoni (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Shardul Thakur