After the not entirely unpleasant diversions of Sunday, the one-off Twenty20 International and its attendant razzle-dazzle, the five-match ODI series is upon us — India's final international 50-over assignment before the World Cup next month.
Before India set off, Sunil Gavaskar suggested that the tour would do M.S. Dhoni's men good. For a team that will start the World Cup as one of the favourites, South Africa in South Africa would be a reality check, a spirit level to assess where it's at.
The exact role the games in the lead-up play is difficult to establish: before its magnificent run to the final of the 2003 World Cup, India suffered embarrassing, seemingly debilitating defeats in New Zealand; before the untimely exit in 2007, India defeated West Indies 3-1 and eventual finalist Sri Lanka 2-1 at home.
Better at bilateral
Besides, the dynamics of a bilateral series and a multi-team tournament are markedly dissimilar. India, as M.S. Dhoni once said, does better in bilateral series, adjusting to the opponent's natural tendencies over time. The numbers bear this out: India has won 16 of the 19 bilateral series since it was beaten here in late 2006; of its last 10, it has won nine.
The success hasn't translated to tournaments, which makes different demands of a team. India has managed only three triumphs in 10 tournaments in the period beginning with the 2007 World Cup. That said, there seem to be at least two benefits of the forthcoming series, which starts with the first ODI on Wednesday.
Batsmen bred in the subcontinent often return better after playing on surfaces with bounce. And three-fifths of the series will help in the pruning of the 30-man long-list to a 15-man squad: the deadline for submitting the World Cup squad is January 19, before which three games will have been played.
The first eleven for the quadrennial showpiece picks itself: Sehwag, Tendulkar, Gambhir, Yuvraj, Raina, Dhoni, Yusuf, Harbhajan, Zaheer, Praveen, and Nehra. This, of course, is assuming that Sehwag and Gambhir attain full fitness — or what passes as full fitness. The 12th name must be Virat Kohli's, leaving three spots open. With Kohli as the reserve batsman, it makes sense to pick as back-up, a spinner, a seamer, and a keeper. That will mean that Rohit Sharma and M. Vijay miss out, tough on two batsmen of talent, but there's little point overstocking one department.
Keeper vital
The reserve keeper moreover is vital. Although injury to a player allows for a replacement from outside the 15 (but within the 30), given Dhoni's history with back-spasms and the condition of his fingers, there mightn't be time to fly a keeper to the game. The extra seamer can be one of Munaf, Sreesanth, and Ishant. The extra spinner is more difficult.
Piyush Chawla seems to have come from nowhere, having last played in July 2008. Pragyan Ojha, who was left out of the squad for the series here, must consider himself unlucky. Ojha offers better control (economy-rate of 4.31 compared to Chawla's 4.96) with little loss in penetration (strike-rate of 41.7 compared to Chawla's 39.3). But it's Ashwin who has the best case for reserve spinner. His ability and willingness to bowl in Power Play on flat wickets; the air of mystery he still has and his ODI record (14 wickets in seven games at an average of 23.21, strike-rate of 28.2, and economy-rate of 4.96): the combination is hard to argue against.
