India vs South Africa, 3rd ODI: Virat's brigade on verge of scripting records; here's how
Virat Kohli-led team India, enthusiastic with two successive wins, will try to take an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the one-day series against South Africa. The third ODI of the current series will be played in Cape Town on Wednesday. According to Indian times, this clash will begin at 4.30 pm. India had demolished the hosts' challenge in the first two ODIs in Durban and Centurion by winning 6 and 9 wickets respectively.
Never won 3 matches in bilateral series
The eyes of the Indian team are on the lookout for history for the first time by winning three matches in a bilateral ODI series on the South African soil. If that happens, then in Cape Town (Newlands), India will win the third of five matches in 1992. India has lost two of three matches against South Africa here and one has won.
India's face of record will change in Africa
Earlier in the bilateral series in South Africa, the Indian team has never won more than two ODIs. The visiting team lost the seven-match series 2-5 in 1992-90, while in 2010-11, India had lost the five-match series 2-3 after making 2-1 lead. Given the level of the current Indian team, if history is repeated, then this team will be like a big tragedy for India.
South Africa in trouble '3-D' without
The cause of South Africa's poor performance is also a bit of a problem of injuries. Explosive batsman AB de Villiers got out before the first one-day match, while Faf du Plessis before the second ODI. These two players are suffering injuries on their fingers. Apart from this, wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock also left the series due to a left wrist injury.
But a defeat could make India to loose its current rank
After the win in Centurion, India reached the top of ICC ODI rankings and with a win in Cape Town, it will strengthen South Africa's lead. South Africa's win will push India again to second place. Although the team management has been consistently saying that they do not pay much attention to the rankings, but Kohli and Company would not want to lose points and would prefer to stay at the top.
Teams (from):
India: Virat Kohli (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur.
South Africa: Aiden Markram, Hashim Amla, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Lungisani Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Khayelihle Zondo, Farhaan Behardien, Heinrich Klaasen (wk).
