India vs South Africa 2015, 5th ODI: Preview, Team News, Live stream and TV Channel Info

Virat Kohli’s return to form with his 138 brightens India’s chances for the final ODI

The series between India and South Africa continues to be as exciting as ever with the scoreline neatly poised at 2-2. India came back with a vengeance on a hot and sultry day at Chennai to level the series, making the fifth One-Day International (ODI) at Mumbai a highly-anticipated decider.

So much was said about Virat Kohli’s scratchy form, but the Delhi batsman was in sublime form on Thursday. India were boosted by the brilliance of Virat Kohli as he scored his 23rd ODI century. His partnerships with Suresh Raina, who came back to form with a glorious fifty and Ajinkya Rahane, were key in ensuring India reached a big total of 299 for eight.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3/68) has produced his second best bowling performance vs South Africa in ODIs, after three for 41 at Indore on October 14, 2015, and was responsible for removing the dangerous Proteas skipper. Harbhajan bagged two wickets as his off-spin rattled the South African batting line-up.

Miller failed to impress once again and Behardien failed to convert a start. However, AB de Villiers was growing strong and at one stage it appeared as if he would single-handedly take the Proteas home.

Eventually, Dhoni's boys sealed the contest by 35 runs, but the captain would have ideally wanted his bowlers to bowl the opposition out. South Africa started off well but with the introduction of the spinners, the middle order were blown away and they could not get any momentum.

AB de Villiers fought a lone hand and his 22nd ODI century gave South Africa hope but with his dismissal, the match came to an end.

Following the loss, de Villiers said, “It was a nice crowd to play in front of, unfortunately, we couldn't win. It's 2-2 and it's going to be a big game in Mumbai. It was a very hard-fought game. I love the way the boys fought today, unfortunately, it didn't go our way today. It was a tough wicket to bat on, Virat assessed the conditions really well. I never felt I was in.”

India captain MS Dhoni explained, “It was an important win. We batted really well, as a team we bowled well. This is one game where we played well. We felt it was right to promote Raina. There was a left-arm spinner as well. I thought Virat batted exceedingly well.”

“He assessed the conditions very well and those runs he scored after reaching his hundred were crucial. It was really difficult to hit the scuffed up ball for big shots. I felt the three spinners were very good and even the fast bowlers bowled well. So I didn't want to use a part-timer,” he continued.

 

Broadcast Details:

TV Channel: Star Sports 1 and 3, HD1 (English), HD3 (Hindi)

Online Stream: www.starsports.com

Date: October 25, Sunday

Time:  13:30 IST | 10:00 SAST

Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

For any other updates regarding the match, follow the Sportskeeda website.

 

Team News

India

While both teams have been undone by injuries to key players, India have been able to fill the gap left by the unavailability of top off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin after the opening Kanpur game more effectively with veteran Harbhajan Singh.

The return to top form of Virat Kohli, who struck a fine half-century (77) in vain in the third match and then made a brilliant 140-ball 138 in his classy fashion at Chennai, bodes well for the hosts.

Ajinkya Rahane has been the steady fulcrum around which the Indian batting has revolved so it is unlikely that Rayudu will get a look-in. The woeful form of left-handed opener Shikhar Dhawan remains India’s only batting worry after Raina’s return to form in the last match.

India, as they did in Chennai, are expected to field all three slow bowlers Harbhajan (5 wickets in 3 games), Axar Patel (5 in 3) and Amit Mishra (4 in 3) because they have been very effective in choking the run-flow in middle overs.

The pace attack, however, has not been on top. Mohit Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have been doing their job, but it looks unlikely that Srinath Aravind will get a look-in at this high-octane clash.

South Africa

South Africa had lost the services of their key all-rounder Jean-Paul Duminy for the last two games due to a hand injury sustained in the third match of the series in Rajkot on October 18.

Fast bowler Morne Morkel too sustained a leg injury while turning in a match-winning performance of 4 for 39 in Rajkot and missed the Chennai game. Replacement Chris Morris was not as effective in doing the job of curtailing the run-rate as well as taking wickets as Morkel.

But he is unlikely to feature in the final game as the visitors will want him fit and running for the Test matches starting November 5 in Mohali. The South African spin attack led by leggie Imran Tahir has not been hitting the mark as much as their Indian counterpart.

The visitors might be inclined to draft Dean Elgar, the left-arm slow bowler brought in as a replacement for Duminy, for the all-important match. On the other hand, the lanky Aaron Phangiso, who got a chance to play in Chennai, did a decent job with his left-hand slow balls could be retained.

The Proteas top-order looks shaky with Hashim Amla and David Miller yet to show what they are capable of. The visitors would be hoping these two key members would buckle up and return to form in the winner-take-all match.

Possible Line-ups

India XI

Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (C & Wk), Axar Patel, Harbhajan Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Amit Mishra, Mohit Sharma.

South Africa XI

Quinton De Kock (Wk), David Miller, Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis, AB De Villiers (C), Farhaan Behardien, Chris Morris, Dale Steyn, Aaron Phangiso, Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir/Dean Elgar.

Pitch & Conditions

The Wankhede wicket generally tends to have a bit more pace and bounce than the four pitches that have been seen so far in the ODI series. So the Proteas would be looking forward to getting there and having a go at the Indians. It has also been a high-scoring venue. The weather will be hot and humid, just as it was in Chennai.

 

Recent Form

India: W-L-W-L-W

South Africa: L-W-L-W-W

 

Key Stats

• South Africa have never won a bilateral ODI series against India in India.
• Amit Mishra is just one short of reaching 50 ODI wickets.
• Hashim Amla needs 15 runs to become the fastest batsmen to complete 6000 ODI runs.
• MS Dhoni requires 2 more stumpings to draw level with Kumar Sangakkara who leads the chart with 139 stumpings across all formats of international cricket.