Men In Blue on brink of creating history on 'Pink Day'
King Kohli and his troops are on the brink of creating history as they lock horns against the Proteas in the fourth and special ODI of the six-match series at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Saturday.
However, South Africa have finally a thing to celebrate on. Already trailing 3-0 in a six match series, the hosts find the mercurial AB de Villiers back in the team. Along with AB, they head into the special game- THE PINK ODI, here, reminding themselves of the significance of this occasion and the fact that they are yet to lose a game in pink jersey.
If the Indian Team manages to come out as the victorious side in the fourth match, it will be the first time that India will beat Proteas in an ODI series in South Africa in the history of the game. The closest they came was in 2010-11, when under former skipper MS Dhoni, they took a 2-1 lead only to lose the five-match series 3-2.
So far, the 'Men in Blue' have been in tremendous form during this series, resulting in a 3-0 lead. The entire Indian lineup is firing on all cylinders and they have dismantled the hosts by big margins of 6 wickets, 9 wickets and 123 runs in the first three ODIs respectively.
The wrist spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav has been the Proteas' undoing in the six-match series so far with the home side yet to understand their line and lengths, leaving them clueless on most situations. The two spinners have ripped the inexperienced South African batting line-up apart, that hasn’t included the likes of Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers, who have been missing due to injuries.
Indian Team management would hope that Hitman and Hardik get back to their form. With Kohli unstoppable, it becomes a lethal combination of batting and bowling for India, who have got timely and substancial support from "Jatt JI" (shikhar dhawan) and Mumbai lad Ajinkya Rahane in batting and Boom Boom bumrah in the bowling. Hitman coming back into form will help india look as the team to beat, as he has been off color since coming to South Africa. Will today be his day?
Will we see a run fest today? The Wanderers has been a high scoring venue for a while now, especially for teams that have had the kind of batting line-up to take advantage of the conditions and the fast outfield here. It is here that South Africa had chased Australia's 434 in a mind-boggling One-day game that first indicated the wildest possibilities in a sport that fans were only waking up to.
Can the Men In Blue make history on Pink Day?