Cape Town: In a bid to decipher the web created around them by tweakers Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, hosts South Africa called five wrist spinners in the nets here Tuesday ahead of the third ODI against India, Wednesday. They are hoping that it will help their struggling batsmen combat the combined threat of Chahal and Yadav.
Leggie Chahal and chinaman bowler Yadav have wreaked havoc in the series, picking 13 wickets in the first two matches and they will again try to be as effective as India aim to build up an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the series. If they do so, it will be history as India have never won three ODIs in a bilateral series in Protealand.
Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan while talking to reporters here ruled out any chance of complacency. “The series is not yet over, is it,” Dhawan shot back when asked about the complacency factor. “We are not taking our foot of the pedal. We will try to win each and every match possible and keep momentum going,” added Dhawan.
South Africa going into the game will again be without Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers and the latest to join the injury list, Quinton de Kock. His place will be taken by Heinrich Klaasen, who also opens. It may be a good option for the hosts because he is yet to be scarred by the effects of Chahal and Kuldeep. However, there is also the possibility, that skipper Aiden Markram may promote himself the batting order. The South Africans also may bring in the experienced Ferhaan Behardien in the middle as he is a better player of spin.
No such problems for Virat Kohli and the Indians will go in with the same XI that prevailed over South Africa at Durban and Centurion to go up 2-0 in the six-game ODI series. Dhawan was quick to point out that the team are not concerned with Rohit Sharma’s form at the top of the order.
“Rohit is timing the ball in a fantastic manner. It is a matter of time before he fires,” Dhawan asserted. He is a class apart.” Talking about South Africa’s collapse against spin in the first two ODIs, the left-hander termed it ‘normal’. “Wrist spinners will extract turn even on flat tracks. South Africans haven’t played wrist spinners much, so they have found it difficult. But even then they are a quality side and they can bounce back any time,” stated the opener.
Meanwhile, South African pacer Kagiso Rabada asserted that not all is lost for the home team. “Yes, there are problems, but those magnify when we are losing,” Rabada stated. “However, there are still four matches left, the series is not yet over. So we have to be positive. However, our performance has not been acceptable at all,” he added.
