Amla believes that the absence of Duminy and Morkel is a big blow to the Proteas

South Africa missed the presence of Morkel (C) and Duminy (R) in the fourth ODI

South African opening batsman Hashim Amla believes that South Africa missed the services of all-rounder JP Duminy and fast bowler Morne Morkel as the Proteas lost by 35 runs in the fourth ODI at Chepauk.

According to a report on bcci.tv, Amla was speaking to the media before the fifth and final ODI, which is to happen on Sunday at Mumbai. The series is levelled at 2-2 and Mumbai is all set to witness a quality cricketing contest between the second and third best ODI teams in the world.

Morkel's presence was sorely missed by South Africa as the Indian batsmen, led by Virat Kohli, posted a total of 299 in the fourth ODI. Morkel had picked up seven wickets in the first three ODIs which is the highest in the series so far. Dale Steyn has the same number of wickets but has played one match more than Morkel.

As per the report, Morkel was seen bowling at the nets in the morning practice session today. However, Amla did not think that Morkel would make the squad for tomorrow's ODI.

“I don't think Morne is fit enough to play tomorrow. He bowled a bit in the nets and probably we will take the final call tomorrow, but I don't think he will be fit,” Amla said.

Amla also believed that the loss of instrumental all-rounder Duminy affected the South African team combination and thus hampered their chance to win their first ODI series in India.

“He [JP Duminy] has been an unbelievably consistent performer for us for the last couple of years. He lends good balance to the team with his off-spinners as well. Having seven frontline batsmen has been a working formula for us and around JP Duminy it does change things for us. Losing him has changed things in the team a bit,” Amla stated.

Although South Africa has lost all their previous three ODIs at Mumbai, Amla did not think that their historical record at the venue mattered much. He was quick to note that having won four out of the six games (including the two T20Is) played in India so far, the Proteas were in good form.

However, when asked about his performance so far in the series, Amla hoped to convert his starts into big scores and put lesser pressure on the South African middle order. Amla has scored only 66 runs in the four ODIs.

“Obviously, I would have liked to score more runs. But, you can’t score runs all the time and other guys in the team will get a chance to score as well. It will be great if I can get to score tomorrow. As a batsman, you always want to contribute towards your team’s success. Hopefully, my time will come,” he said.