South Africa vs India 2018: Five strategies the hosts should adopt to counter wrist-spin

South Africa have been very dominant on their home turf over the past few years, and the current 3-0 drubbing against India is an unfamiliar situation for them. Things have changed very quickly for the hosts. They came into the series as the Number 1 ODI side, expecting to compete dominantly in the series, and are now going down the barrel, losing 3 games on the trot.

The tracks in South Africa are known for bounce and lateral movement, but this time around, things have changed. Fast bowlers didn't get any help out of the tracks in the first three ODIs. Instead, the pitches turned out to be conducive to spin bowling. Both the Indian spinners dominated the proceedings and turned out to be unplayable for the hosts.

At Newlands, the hosts had a good power play, going at a run rate of 5.00 an over, with only one batsman back in the shed and looked well on course to chase down India's 303-run total. However, the moment the spinners came into the attack, their shoulders dropped and wickets fell like nine pins. The middle-order had no clue what was coming at them, and they were unable to read the ball.

Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav have bowled well in tandem, getting 21 wickets between them in just three games. Both of them look menacing, and no batsman seems to have the ability to counter them with confidence.

After the Newlands ODI, the Proteas only have a couple of days to sort things out. With just three games left in the series, the hosts can't afford any more let-offs.

Here are five ways in which South Africa can tackle Chahal and Yadav on the rest of the tour:

#5 Pick the spinners off the hand

Kuldeep Yadav has been on fire this series

The batsman should try and pick the spinners off the hand and not off the track. If a ball is not picked off the hand, he'll lose that crucial fraction of a second that he can use to get into position.

With the likes of Tabraiz Shamsi in the squad, the top 7 batters should face him in the nets, to make sure they can read the wrong'un of Yadav more often than not.

#4 Get to the pitch of the delivery

Playing the ball under the eyes is very important

The South African batsmen were caught on the crease on several occasions, and they proved to be LBW candidates for the Indian leggies. The main strength of the two spinners is their ability to bowl the wrong'un and googly.

The batsmen should be right on to the front foot, going towards the pitch of the ball and play it under their eyes.

#3 Rotate the strike

Building the partnership on singles and doubles is crucialThe Proteas batsmen failed to rotate the strike against the turning ball, which enabled the bowler to set them up and eventually they churned out a delivery, with the batsman's name written on it.

The hosts played with hard hands, and extra cover and mid-wicket came into play straight away. Lots of deliveries were hit straight into the hands of the close-in fielders, which prevented them from taking a single.

They should look to play with soft hands and steer the ball into the gaps, thus picking up singles on a regular basis.

#2 Proper execution of the sweep shot

They must take a page out of AB de Villiers' book

The hosts couldn't execute the sweep shot well in the first three ODIs. Repeatedly playing the sweep shot from the stump line got them plumb in front.

This shot must be executed by getting the front foot outside the off-stump, to make sure that even if the ball misses the bat and hits the leg, the impact of the same will be outside off-stump. AB de Villers, who is set to return to the team from the fourth ODI, is an exceptional sweeper of the cricket ball.

#1 Play with the turn

Playing against the turn has cost the South African batsmen in the series

Over the three games, lots of Proteas wickets fell when the hosts were trying to slog the ball to the leg side, against the spin of Chahal and Yadav. Instead, they should look to play with the turn.

That in itself, is the most important aspect of playing spin bowling. If the batsman plays against the spin, it's just a matter of time before he walks back to pavilion.

The choice of shots from the South Africans has not been the best. They have been playing too many glory shots, which has resulted in their downfall against wrist-spin.