3 things India must do to beat South Africa in 3rd ODI
Team India will complete the white-ball leg of their South African tour with a series decider in the final and third ODI in Paarl on December 21.
Following a dominant eight-wicket win in the opening game, India came crashing back down to earth with a defeat by the same margin in the second ODI. The two evenly matched sides, playing without several core members, will look to seal the series to avenge the pain of their recent World Cup heartbreaks.
Team India have been in resounding ODI form despite the World Cup final loss. They will look forward to their second-string side to continue the winning momentum heading into the pivotal Test series.
Meanwhile, the Proteas will look toward doing a role reversal from the last time the two teams met in a bilateral ODI series when India emerged victorious 2-1 at home last year.
With the T20I series drawn 1-1, the winner of this outing will finish with the bragging rights for the white-ball leg of the Indian tour to South Africa.
On that note, let us zero in on the three things India must do to defeat South Africa in the third and deciding ODI.
#1 India must play Yuzvendra Chahal as a third spinner
There was plenty of noise surrounding Yuzvendra Chahal's exclusion from the Indian World Cup squad. The crafty leg-spinner has warmed the bench in the first two ODIs as well.
The Men in Blue have gone for Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel as their two spinners with a three-pronged pace attack. However, if any venue in South Africa warrants consideration for a three-spin attack, it would be the slow and low Boland Park in Paarl.
Not to forget the damage Chahal and Kuldeep executed in tandem in the 2017-18 tour of the Rainbow nation when India stunned the hosts with a 5-1 ODI series victory.
The duo finished as the leading wicket-takers in the series, with Kuldeep picking 17 wickets and Chahal 16 in six games.
With South African batters' long struggles against wrist spin, India should consider playing the 37-year-old leggy in the series decider. Chahal will also be motivated to show why he always belonged in India's ODI setup, which could stack up well for their fortunes in the Paarl outing.
#2 Set batters must capitalize on South Africa's inexperienced pace attack
The Indian batters know that the South African pace attack for this series is highly inexperienced. It is a factor that could be exploited if the top-order batters lay a solid foundation and not throw away their starts.
While Nandre Burger, Lizaad Williams, Beuran Hendricks, and Wiaan Mulder are talented pacers, their lack of experience could come into play when a massive partnership is on.
In the second ODI, the batters were guilty of being dismissed after getting set, allowing South Africa off the hook. The two half-centurions, Sai Sudharsan and KL Rahul got out on 62 and 56, respectively, and several others threw their wickets away at scores between 10 and 20.
South Africa have historically been weak in death-over bowling, but to cash on the death overs, the Indian top order must score big and continue for the long haul once set.
They were already eight down in the 43rd over and kept losing wickets throughout the innings, helping the Protea bowlers remain on top. Yet, it will be interesting to watch how the hosts' bowlers react if the Indian batters set the stage in the first 30 overs for the launch at the latter end of the innings.
#3 Pick up early wickets to mitigate the threat of South Africa's dangerous middle-order
South Africa possesses arguably the most dangerous white-ball middle order in Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, and David Miller. Yet, the trio have tended not to be at their devastating best against a relatively new ball.
For that to transpire, the Indian bowlers must pick up early wickets, similar to the opening ODI when they reduced the hosts to 3/2 in the second over. What followed was indecision from the powerful middle-order, leading to the side being bowled out for a paltry 116 in the 28th over.
However, in the previous clash, impressive left-handed opener Tony de Zorzi smashed a breathtaking century to help the Proteas chase 212 by eight wickets and 45 balls to spare.
Should South Africa bat first, a replica of the second ODI could empower their middle order to the point where they muster up a total out of India's reach. But a few early wickets could exploit the middle-order batters' inability to curb their instincts, leading to India restricting the African giants to a below-par total.
It may also not be a bad idea for India to open with a spinner from one end, especially if they play three spinners, to test De Zorzi's ability against quality spin.