Twitter
Advertisement

India vs South Africa 2015: Pride at stake as India enter Eden

MS Dhoni's men will seek to avoid embarrassment of a 0-3 loss and pull one back in final T20I today

Latest News
article-main
MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli at the Eden Gardens on the eve of the 3rd T20I against South Africa on Wednesday
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

With the series already in the visiting South Africans' bag, hosts India have only pride to play for when the two teams lock horns in the third and final Twenty20 International at the historic Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday.

A win for MS Dhoni & Co can only give the confidence going into the second leg of the Mahatma Gandhi-Nelson Mandela Series, the five-match ODI series, beginning in Kanpur on October 11.

For India to restore pride, they need to get the team composition right following seven- and six-wicket losses in the first two T20Is. India even suffered the embarrassment of posting their second lowest T20 total, and their lowest on home soil, three days ago in Cuttack.

For Dhoni and Co to reverse the trend, he will have to rest the non-performing Ambati Rayudu and Axar Patel and bring in Ajinkya Rahane, the man who has been in tremendous form in a different format in the last year or so, the rejuvenated leg-spinner Amit Mishra.

The Eden strip is expected to be a spinner’s paradise, and India must capitalise by curbing the South Africans strokeplay on a surface which may not be conducive to batting.

In such a scenario, Mishra seems to be a better bet but it remains to be seen whether Dhoni, who considers the wrist spinner to be slower in the air, picks him ahead of Patel or Harbhajan Singh.

The biggest positive for India has been Ravichandran Ashwin, who has troubled the South Africans, and bowled out the danger man, AB de Villiers, on both the occasions this series.

Dhoni will once again look up to his Chennai Super Kings teammate Ashwin who will pose a threat to the spin-wary Proteas.

Thursday will be India's second T20I in Kolkata. Their first was against England in October 2011 when Graeme Swann-led England won by six wickets in a low-scoring game in which the visiting pacers Steven Finn and Tim Bresnan rocked the Indian top-order.

Despite being the most successful Indian skipper, with a World Twenty20 title, 50-overs World Cup and also Champions Trophy triumph to his credit besides leading India to No. 1 rank in Test cricket, a certain section believes that days are numbered for the 34-year-old from Ranchi.

The latest defeat to South Africa had added serious pressure on Dhoni, once considered the king of the limited-overs format. Though there’s absolutely no doubt about his fitness, Dhoni’s stroke-making skills have started to elude him, something that’s evident in the slide of his strike-rate.

At Dharamsala, when it was expected that India would post around 220 after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s 138-run partnership in 72 balls, India managed just 41 runs from last five overs with Dhoni in the middle. It was worse in Cuttack where the top order failed to give a start and the lower order, with Dhoni at No 6, failed to build a partnership.

Dhoni has often made known his intention to bat higher up the order and that others should take the responsibility of seeing the team through in the end overs. Kolkata could well be the beginning of it.

The visitors, on the other hand, have so far persisted with one specialist spinner in Imran Tahir, with JP Duminy doing a part-time role.

Duminy, along with David Miller, may play an extended role in bowling if Faf du Plessis opts for the same attack that outdid India in their home conditions.

The Proteas have another option in legspinner Eddie Leie but it remains to be seen whether du Plessis risks him on Thursday.

The inclusion of Albie Morkel, who secured his best performance in T20I with 3/12 in a twist of fate to his sagging career, was a masterstroke.

The raw pace and aggression of Kagiso Rabada, Morkel’s experience and Tahir’s magic will once again play a key role in their aspiration of making a clean sweep.

—(With inputs from PTI)

Teams

India: MS Dhoni (C), R Sharma, S Dhawan, V Kohli, S Raina, A Rayudu, A Patel, H Singh, R Ashwin, B Kumar, M Sharma, A Rahane, A Mishra, S Binny and S Aravind
South Africa: Faf du Plessis (C), H Amla, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, F Behardien, D Miller, C Morris, K Rabada, K Abott, A Morkel, I Tahir, Q de Kock, E Leie, M de Lange, K Zondo

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement