Johannesburg: India’s indomitable cricket team look set for a landmark series triumph but an injury-ravaged South Africa would hope for some AB de Villiers magic to halt the visitors’ charge in the fourth ODI here, Saturday. A fourth consecutive win will also cement their spot as the No.1 side in ICC ODI Rankings.
India’s bowling coach Bharat Arun who spoke to the media here Friday asserted that India would indeed go in for the jugular when the game starts. He stated that he is expecting the new spin twins Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav to continue their exceptional work in the fourth ODI while also informing that door is not closed on Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the lead up to the 2019 World Cup.
“They (Chahal and Kuldeep) have been extremely positive in the series and that has helped them succeed. They are not afraid to flight the ball. They are not afraid to impart extra spin to gain something, and they are not dependent on the pitches,” Arun stated. “They get a lot out of the air. They have enough skills to beat batsmen in the air and they back their instincts,” he added.
Yet, the bowling coach insisted that the World Cup spots are still open. “We had a good pool of bowlers and given the volume of cricket we are playing, we needed to keep rotating them,” said Arun.
“It’s not that Ashwin and Jadeja are out of the race. They could still be (included) into the team,” he added.
India held an optional practice session Friday with the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Shami taking part.
The Proteas have not lost an ODI series at home since losing 1-2 to Pakistan in 2013. Additionally, they have never lost on ’Pink Day’, celebrated to create awareness and collect funds for breast cancer.
“It’s huge. If I am right, no other team has come to South Africa and won a one-day series. To us, we are on the brink of it. If we do it, it will be really huge. There is always a first time and we hope this is it,” Arun pointed out.
South Africa all-rounder Chris Morris conceded that the whole team is under tremendous pressure. “It’s do or die for us now. It’s natural pressure. If we lose one more, that’s the series gone,” Morris told reporters. “… So we’ll be fighting for every single ball, every single run out there. So a lot of pressure but what’s cricket without pressure? It’s boring.”
Press Trust of India
