South Africa vs India 2018: 3 changes Virat Kohli could make for 6th ODI
When Team India boarded their flight for South Africa, they must have had plans to create history. This was substantiated when Bhuvneshwar Kumar ran through the South African top order in the first Test, but consecutive defeats soured the spirits of the Indian cricket fans.
Following a dramatic turn of events, the team bounced back in the 3rd Test at Wanderers, on a pitch that was rated ‘poor’ by the ICC. Since then, Kohli and Co. have shown that they are perfectly capable of maintaining their aggressive style of play in overseas conditions as well.
Being 4-1 up in the 6-match ODI series, Kohli hinted at the post-match presentation that he would not mind testing the bench strength in the final ODI. On that note, let us have a look at the possible changes that Kohli can make in the final ODI at Centurion.
#1 Mohammed Shami in for Bhuvneshwar or Pandya
Mohammed Shami was India’s leading wicket-taker in the recently concluded Test series against the Proteas. His five-for in the second innings of the last Test broke the back of the South African batting. If India consider him to be in the scheme of things for the 2019 World Cup, which they would be in all likelihood, it would serve Shami well if he gets some matches under his belt. His extra pace and skiddy nature can certainly hurry the opposition batsmen. This match can also be used to test his credentials in the slog overs.
The mercurial pacer can make the cut in place of either Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Hardik Pandya. Both Bhuvneshwar and Pandya are currently mainstays in all three formats of the game. They toiled hard in the Test series and the ODIs that followed and are expected to be automatic picks for the T20Is. After this tour, they would feature in the Nidahas Trophy – a 7-match T20I tri-series – and the IPL as well and hence need a break from the action.