India's middle-order woes

India dominated the first three ODIs against South Africa but the 'pink brigade' came back strongly to have their first taste of victory in the fourth game of the six-match series at Johannesburg. The men in blue are facing a crisis of sorts in the middle order and with the World Cup just a year away, the Indian team need to get their combination right.

Too much experimentation is eroding India's middle order strength rather than strengthening it. The side from the subcontinent has tried 10 different batsmen at the number four position since the 2015 World Cup down under. The constant chopping and changing are hurting India's chances of having a stable batting order.

There have been numerous opinions about having a firm batting order. In the first ODI, Ajinkya Rahane provided the fans with some aspiration of a permanent solution but the hope has faltered away after the previous two ODIS. "Too many cooks spoil the broth" perfectly explains India's story. They have tried too many batsmen at the number four spot.

The decreasing strike rate of MS Dhoni has forced the fans to think about him at number four. He has garnered a lot of criticism in the recent past for his slow innings. Regarded as best finisher in the world, the former Indian captain has failed to close out the innings on a high on multiple occasions in the last two-three years. The 36-year-old can play the anchor's role at the position has he still has a lot to offer to Indian cricket.

MS Dhoni's position by position stats

The hard-hitting batsman has a healthy average and a wonderful strike rate at the number four position. The wicket keeper batsman will be the perfect choice to come in to bat after Virat Kohli at the one down position. With the luxury of taking time to settle at the crease, he can unleash the helicopter at the back end of the innings.

Who is the right man for five and six?

With MS Dhoni batting at number four, India can go in with two aggressive batsmen at the number five and six positions. Kedar Jadhav has played only one inning in this series scoring only one run. His bowling provides an extra cushion for the skipper, Jadhav provides India with the luxury of playing all-rounder Hardik Pandya. Jadhav can play at the number six position for his side.The 32-year-old can also chip in with some overs in the middle.

Having Dhoni at the number four position and Jadhav at the number six position mean India need to get a solid batsman at number five. Manish Pandey, Shreyas Iyer and Dinesh Karthik are possible options for the job. Iyer fails to accelerate early on in his innings, a quality that is a must for any number 5 batsman. Manish Pandey seems like the ideal choice for the number five position as his ability to rotate the strike and score freely at the same time gives him the preference over Karthik and Iyer.

Another concern for India is all-rounder Hardik Pandya. An all-rounder should either be a complete bowler or a complete batsman but Pandya's bowling and batting have been below par in this series. The all-rounder has worked as a floater in the batting order on a few occasions but the experiment has failed every single time. His ability to attack the spinners with sheer ease have given opposition captains a bit of a headache but they have conquered that successfully. Pandya is often welcomed to the crease with short balls by the pacers.

He is the seaming all-rounder that India was searching since the last few years. Pandya can neither bat in the top six nor play as a bowler in the last five. The 24-year-old will need to work on his bowling as he is far from being a bowler who can be trusted to bowl 10 overs in a game. The selectors might look for alternatives if he doesn't deliver in the next few games with Vijay Shankar waiting in the ranks to grab any opportunity presented to him.