"Kohli and Pant will together score more than 80 runs" - Aakash Chopra makes his predictions for the 3rd India vs South Africa ODI
Aakash Chopra has made his predictions for the third and final ODI between India and South Africa to be played in Cape Town on Sunday.
Team India go into the match looking for a consolation win, having already lost the series after suffering reversals in the first two encounters. They will also hope that the likes of Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant set the stage on fire with the bat.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra predicted handsome contributions from Kohli and Pant. He elaborated:
"Kohli and Pant will together score more than 80 runs. I feel Kohli will definitely score runs in this match, he did get out early in the last match. Pant scored 85 in the last match, so I have more expectations from him that the last ODI match should be a watershed moment in his career."
The former India cricketer also expects the visiting openers to outscore their South African counterparts. Aakash Chopra said:
"I still feel the Indian openers will score more runs than the South African openers in this encounter although that did not happen in the last match, how well did Janneman Malan and Quinton de Kock play. It will be the Cape Town ground, it is a new ground."
It will be interesting to see if Team India sticks with the opening combination of KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan. They might want to give the in-form Ruturaj Gaikwad a game or even Venkatesh Iyer an opportunity to bat at the top of the order.
"South African spinners will be more economical than the Indian spinners" - Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra feels the South African spinners will continue to be more stingy than their Indian counterparts. He reasoned:
"I feel the South African spinners will be more economical than the Indian spinners. It is not that we are not bowling better than them or they bowl fantastically well or we don't play spin well. The fact is the intent. The attitude leaves the skill behind at times. None of the Indian batters apart from Rishabh Pant have played spin in an aggressive fashion."
That's comprehensive from South Africa.
Bitter pill to swallow for India: their spinners have been outbowled by South Africa's and the home team's batsmen have played spin better than the visitors.
2-0 to seal the ODIs after 2-1 in Tests.
#INDvSA #SAvIND
The reputed commentator concluded by predicting that South Africa will complete a whitewash in the ODI series. Chopra said:
"I feel South Africa will win this match as well. They are a team on the rise, they are not going to stop, their morale is really high."
Team India are yet to win a match in 2022, having lost both Tests and the two ODIs played to date this year. They hope to buck the trend and end the South African tour on a winning note today.