India's first ODI vs South Africa - Preview

MS Dhoni in his first press conference since landing down in South Africa talked about the warm reception the team received despite all the controversies which threatened to cancel the tour. But expect a fierce contest on the pitch once the first ball of the series is bowled. The shortened tour is finally underway, and we start off with the first of the 3 One Day Internationals.

South Africa

But things are not the same for South Africa. They are unsure about their playing XI combination and losing a rare home series against Pakistan have only made matters worse. Jacques Kallis’s return to 50 over cricket has complicated things as the team management was forced to leave out either Faf Du Plessis or Ryan Mclaren. In the latter’s case, he was the man of the series in UAE last month against Pakistan.

South Africa would like at least 6-7 tight overs from Kallis.

Kallis’s bowling workload needs attention as South Africa would want at least 6 to 7 good tight overs from the veteran since they will be going in with only 4 specialist bowlers in his presence. He made a 50 in his comeback game, but his batting position is a thing to ponder. De Kock’s good performances against Pakistan might extend his run which would mean Kallis won’t be able to bat in the top 3. If he bats at 4, the team management has to have specific plans for him as they have to make sure the big hitters like De Villers, Duminy and Miller have enough overs to slog it out in the middle to set up a good finish.

One man who could be under a little bit of pressure is their former captain Graeme Smith. He has now gone past 8 innings without a 50 plus score in ODIs and De Kock’s form is bound to put pressure on Smith. So he needs a good outing in this series.

Smith has now gone 8 innings without a 50.

Expected line-up: Smith, Amla, De Kock, Kallis, De Villiers, Duminy, Miller, Steyn, Morkel, Tahir and Tsotsobe

India

The number one ranked team will be tested in conditions which are expected to be different from what they encountered back at home against Australia and West Indies recently. The good news for India though is they have a fairly settled line up. The only area they are expected to make a change is their third seamer. Ishant and Umesh have been added to the squad and Umesh is likely to get a chance in the first game.

Despite their lean patch, Yuvraj and Raina are expected to feature in the lineup. Both looked uncomfortable against the pace of Mitchell Johnson. Steyn and Morkel would have been aware of that and they will be more than happy to have the ball in their hand when they come out to bat.

With the pitches expected to assist seamers, things could get really tough out in the middle for both Yuvraj and Raina as they would look to keep Rahane out of reckoning.

Shikhar Dhawan made 248 just a few months ago in a List A game in South Africa. That would have given him loads of confidence and his quick starts are very essential in India putting up a big score on the board. His partnership with Rohit has flourished so far and they will be expected to carry on the good work.

Dhawan would hope his good run continues.

Expected line-up: Dhawan, Rohit, Kohli, Raina, Yuvraj, Dhoni, Jadeja, Ashwin, B Kumar, Shami and Umesh

Conditions

Pakistan and South Africa played a T20 International here in Johannesburg two weeks ago and both camps admitted that the pitch was greener than usual. And with light showers expected, one would safely assume that the seamers would get plenty of assistance. But the Pakistani spinners had a very good game on the same pitch. So it would be interesting to see if Jadeja and Ashwin can get anything out of the surface.

But last time an ODI was played, a few months ago, both teams made 300 plus scores. It was a run feast. India would be hoping for a similar surface since batting has always their strength and also with the kind of form the top 3 are in at the moment.

Captain who wins the toss might prefer to chase because of the freshness that’s expected to be on the wicket with some rain over the past week. Both teams would love to get off to a winning start especially with this being just a three match series.