Bowlers provided M.S. Dhoni the winning hand in two out of the four matches. Both wins came defending totals as spin and reverse swing choked the South African run-chase in the second and fourth ODIs. Going into the decider under the Wankhede Stadium floodlights, this aspect will be at the back of the mind in both the dressing rooms.
Harbhajan Singh has used his experience to tie down batsmen with a tight line and teased them with flight. Axar Patel has not been overawed by reputations and troubled right-handers, including A.B. de Villiers, with deliveries fizzing away and hastening off the pitch. Amit Mishra has tormented with his turn and denied batsmen the width to launch into strokes.
The fifth one-dayer on Sunday is expected to follow the same pattern. The visitors may breathe easier under the floodlights on Sunday, but high humidity at night could play tricks on the batsmen’s mind in a chase.
de Villiers factorSouth African skipper de Villiers (tons at Kanpur and Chennai) has demonstrated adaptability and range of strokes, standing tall at the crease amidst the sweat, dust and toil. Opener Quinton de Kock has realised the value of patience in Indian conditions, while Faf du Plessis has made quick runs before giving his wicket away.
Though the South Africans can handle pace, reverse swing is giving them more headaches than expected. India lost the toss at Kanpur and Rajkot and ended up losing the way in the chase. Approaching the Sunday decider, there are more questions about the batting than solutions that Dhoni expected when he shuffled the order. The captain has explained his experiments as a way to test top-order batsmen under pressure at number six and seven.
Batting line-upHe set an example in the second match (92 not out) batting at number five, building small partnerships with bowlers Axar, Bhuvaneshwar and Harbhajan. Suresh Raina did not fire under additional responsibility at number six and Ajinkya Rahane could not push up the scoring in the slog overs, with five fielders in the deep.
The Indian captain would have solved the puzzle of chasing in the closing overs by now. With the experience of four matches with an extra fielder on the ropes, there is no better stage than the Wankhede to create a path of his own. Virat Kohli, Raina or Rahane as partner will be perfect.
The South African attack is weaker without injured pacer Morne Morkel and J-P. Duminy’s off-spin. Replacements Chris Morris and Aaron Phangiso cannot be expect to get cracking straightaway, though the former is aware of the local conditions due to his IPL stints.
Dhoni would prefer to defend, leaving the spinners and Bhuvneshwar to do their stuff.
The teams (from):
India: M.S. Dhoni (capt.), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Amit Mishra, Stuart Binny, Ambati Rayudu and Gurkeerat Singh.
South Africa: A.B. de Villiers (capt.), Faf du Plessis, Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, Farhaan Behardien, David Miller, Chris Morris, Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir, Kyle Abbott, Aaron Phangiso and Khaya Zondo.
Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena and Anil Chaudhary. Third umpire: Vineet Kulkarni.
Match referee: Chris Broad.
