South Africa vs India 2018: 5 player battles to watch out in ODIs
The much-awaited Test series between South Africa and India has concluded with a memorable battle between the sides, with the hosts taking the series 2-1. The tour now moves on to the limited-overs leg, which will feature 6 ODIs and 3 T20Is.
The first ODI takes place at Durban on February 1 with both squads slightly different to what they were during the Tests.
South Africa have brought in Imran Tahir, David Miller and JP Duminy while India have flown in MS Dhoni, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, among others. Sportskeeda looks at the best individual battles in the upcoming series.
Shikhar Dhawan vs Morne Morkel
Shikhar Dhawan has had the most impact in ODIs since his comeback in 2013 – he has learnt to settle down against the new ball and then smack once the innings approaches the middle-overs and the tail end, having formed a devastating combination with Rohit Sharma at the top. But his record in South Africa is below par, with only 12 runs in 3 games in 2013.
In the reciprocal series in 2015, he again under-performed with only 126 runs in 5 innings. In the first three of those matches, he was castled by the tall and fast Morne Morkel, who trapped him in front once while getting him caught with a slower ball and one that swung slightly away.
Morkel had also had him at Johannesburg in 2013 and comes off the Test series with 13 wickets while Dhawan was dropped after the first Test. How the opener chooses to tackle the lanky pacer's lengths on his own soil this time will be worth watching.