India vs South Africa 1st ODI : Preview

Here comes the contest every Indian fan was waiting for. Though one might have wished for a full fledged series, rather than tamely reduced 3 ODI,2 Test series, yet the excitement level is nowhere down.  The first ODI will be on 5th December, with the teams facing off at the Wanderers stadium at the Johannesburg. Let us take a look at the teams.

India : The Indian ODI team is the best ODI team of the year, hands down. They are yet to lose an ODI series this year, will be extremely confident going into the series. The best part of the current Indian ODI team is their never-say-die attitude, even in foriegn conditions. The way they won the Champions trophy is a clear example. Now back to the current issue, Indian team looks a confident lot.

First the batting order. When the top three run scorers of the year are present in the same team, the opposition will be really intimidated by it. That is exactly the case with the Indian top order, with Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli having a dream run at the top of the order. But their real test will be against the likes of Steyn and co, and it will be interesting to see their performance against them. The middle order looks comparitively brittle, thanks to Yuvi’s and Raina’s long time problem with the short ball. But Yuvi must have gained a lot of confidence from his fifty in the last match against West Indies. Dhoni has been at his usual best, cementing his claim to be the greatest ever finisher of the game with some awe-inspiring performances.

Jadeja and Ashwin can bat a bit, as they have shown recently. But their main responsibility lies in the bowling department. The pace department, headed by Shami and Bhuvi, would look to extract good bounce and movement from the Wanderer’s pitch. While Bhuvi’s new-ball wicket taking abilities have never been doubted, Shami’s reverse swing is something South Africa should watch out for. Death bowling is a real concern and we have to wait and watch as to what Dhoni has planned to do in death overs. The spinners will be much less assisted by the pitch, but Ashwin and Jadeja would like to capitalise on the bouncy pitches. It will be interesting to see what bowling combination Dhoni opts for in the first ODI.

South Africa : Though they were defeated by a spirited Pakistani team, it will be unfair to write them off. Consisting a blend of talented and experienced players, South Africa have a perfect balance of good batting order and extremely good bowling unit.

Amla and Graeme Smith have been good at the top of the order. Amla has been stranglely on a lean patch, and his knock of 98 of 130 odd balls in the second ODI did the team no good, as they lost the match and series to Pakistan. But he will look to amend his mistakes and will come blazing out against India. Kallis has looked stable returning after a long-ODI layoff. Kock is very talented and will look to make an impact. The middle order consisting of Duminy, De Villers and David Miller looks extremely strong.
Their bowling attack is possibly the best in the world currently. When you have the ranks of Steyn, Morne Morkel and Philander in your rank, the opposition will be automatically intimidated. And over that, Ryan and Tsotsobe have been impressive this year, and Tahir’s successful return is just an icing on the cake.

Pitch : Johannesburg has traditionally favoured fast bowlers with ample amount of bounce. But the short ground will keep the batsmen interested.

Verdict : It will be a cracker of a game. Both the team look strong on paper. While India needs to overcome their death bowling issues, choking has always been the problem with the South Africans. India would like to chase their target, rather than set one. It will be an evenly contested match, and hard to predict the winner, as of now.