India vs South Africa: 3 player battles to watch out for

After a grueling Test series which South Africa won 2-1, the stage is set for white ball action. The hosts lock horns with India in a three-match ODI series beginning Wednesday (January 19) at Boland Park in Paarl.

The series marks the dawn of a new era in Indian cricket, with Virat Kohli no longer the captain across formats.

Kohli announced his decision to step down as Test captain three days earlier while he was replaced by Rohit Sharma as the new ODI skipper in December.

However, an injury to Rohit has meant that KL Rahul will step in as skipper with Jasprit Bumrah being appointed his deputy.

Given that India return to the 50-over format after a long time - they played all of six games in 2021 - a number of player battles could dictate how the series goes.

Both teams look evenly matched with some key players such as Anrich Nortje, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja, apart from Rohit, missing out due to injuries.

Here, we take a look at three player battles that could shape which way the India-South Africa ODI series progresses:

#3 Marco Jansen versus Shikhar Dhawan

Marco Jansen was a revelation for South Africa in the recently concluded Test series against India.

Despite the absence of Rohit Sharma, India remain a top-heavy batting outfit with KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli headlining it. Dhawan will have a massive role to play in Rohit's absence should India dictate terms in the powerplay.

One man who will look to douse those though is Marco Jansen. The lanky left-arm seamer left quite an impression in his maiden international venture with some hostile bowling in the Test series.

With Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada unavailable, Jansen could well make his debut in the upcoming ODIs.

The direction in which this head-to-head sways could well dictate which team takes the early initiative in the contest. Dhawan has been prolific for the Indians in ODI cricket and will have a point to prove having been discarded from the T20I setup.

To that end, how he counters the pace, bounce and unpredictability of Jansen will go a long way in setting the foundation for the visitors.

#2 Jasprit Bumrah versus Quinton de Kock

Quinton de Kock holds the aces to South Africa's chances in the one-dayers. (File Image)

Fresh from having retired from Test cricket, Quinton de Kock is set to return atop the batting order for South Africa. It won't be an easy return for the batting superstar though, with one of the toughest challenges up against him straight away in Jasprit Bumrah.

Bumrah is arguably the best all-format bowler on the globe at this point in time. He would also know de Kock's game in and out, having spent enough time with him at Mumbai Indians.

That said, de Kock loves batting in this format and against India in particular.

The Bumrah-de Kock duel is set to be an engrossing one with neither set to budge from going for the kill. Given that South Africa rely heavily on de Kock's returns at the top, how he counters Bumrah will be pivotal in dictating his side's fortunes.

For that to transpire well, he might even have to put a price on his wicket early on and curb his natural instincts to an extent.

---

#1 Tabraiz Shamsi versus Virat Kohli

Tabraiz Shamsi - South Africa's USP and the potential weapon to counter Virat Kohli. (File Image)

Tabraiz Shamsi has seamlessly taken over from Imran Tahir as South Africa's lead spinner in white-ball cricket. And in what could well be the battle of the series, his battle against India's talisman Virat Kohli promises to be a spicy one.

Shamsi not only has the variations to trouble Kohli but also brings in the requisite control through the middle-overs.

In recent times, this has been a phase where Kohli has found it tough to accelerate and has perished against spin more often than not.

The difference between South Africa restricting India's batters to a decent total and the visitors piling on the big runs could well be Shamsi.

Freed of captaincy, it remains to be seen if Kohli will come out on the offensive in the middle-overs. It won't be easy against Shamsi's bags of tricks though.