India vs South Africa 2015, 3rd ODI: Preview, Team News, Live stream and TV Channel Info

Amidst a poor run of form in ODIs, Virat Kohli will like to turn things around in Rajkot

Following a tantalizing encounter in Indore, wherein MS Dhoni’s team staged a miraculous comeback to defeat South Africa, the 3rd ODI in Rajkot promises to be another exciting affair. With the series locked at 1-1, both teams would want to wrest control of the series on a surface which generally favours the batsmen to a significant extent.

After Dhoni recaptured his form with a spectacular innings to haul India to a challenging total, the Indian lower-order seems to have begun the process of shedding their woes. However, the middle-order still looks shaky with key-man Kohli struggling to match his formidable reputation. Meanwhile, the bowling attack appeared rejuvenated as they defended 247 in the 2nd ODI.

For the South Africans, the loss reopened old wounds related to their fabled exploits of choking under immense pressure and a blood-thirsty crowd. While the bowling unit continued with their stellar run, the middle-order crumbled to the turning ball. The likes of David Miller and Farhaan Behardien are grappling to justify their places in the playing XI.

Ruling out a promotion in the batting order, a visibly relieved Dhoni felt that his presence was acutely needed to shepherd the lower-order batsmen. He believed, “If you see stretches of cricket where teams have done well, the lower order has contributed a lot irrespective of the format. Your lower order needs to perform. So, that was the reason I came back over here and I am still batting at No.5 or 6 because I find it really difficult. I can't really put too much pressure on some of the other youngsters in the side.”

Ruing the efforts of his batsmen who failed to chase a relatively moderate total, AB De Villiers stated, “It's up to the top seven to win games for us especially when we chase totals which we feel are below par and 240 was below par. There are certain games in one-day cricket where the tail-enders need to chip in and I thought they chipped in pretty well today. I can't blame them. It's the top seven's responsibility to chase it down. With experience like that we should be finishing games.”

Broadcast Details

TV Channel: Star Sports 1, HD1 (English) and 3, HD3 (Hindi)

Online Stream: www.starsports.com

Date: October 18, Sunday

Time: 13:30 IST | 10:00 SAST

Venue: Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot

For any other updates regarding the match, follow the Sportskeeda website.

Team News

India

The prospect of a gruelling 4-match Test series which follows the ODI series immediately means the Indian team management is unlikely to consider bringing back Ravichandran Ashwin who is still recovering from a side strain. Even though Shikhar Dhawan has not yet made a significant impact in the tour yet, he would be backed to bounce back. In the bowling department, Umesh Yadav has leaked runs in both the ODIs. It remains to be seen whether Dhoni will swap him with a more potent Amit Mishra.

South Africa

For the visiting Proteas, the coaching staff might look to drop an out-of-sorts David Miller and hand over a debut to the 25-year old Khaya Zondo who is regarded as a finisher in the domestic circuit. Farhaan Behardien's spot is also under the scanner as skipper AB De Villiers could desire to fall back on the more experienced Chris Morris. The consistent performances by the bowlers would mean that Kyle Abbott's wait to establish himself in the ODI team is likely to continue.

Possible Line-ups

India XI

Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (C & Wk), Axar Patel, Harbhajan Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav/Amit Mishra, Mohit Sharma

South Africa XIQuinton De Kock (Wk), Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis, AB De Villiers (C), JP Duminy, David Miller/ Khaya Zondo, Farhaan Behardien/ Chris Morris, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir

Pitch & Conditions

Another hot and humid day is expected in Rajkot with temperatures hovering between 24-38° C. The pitch at the Rajkot stadium is usually a batsman’s paradise. There is also a possibility of dew hampering the bowlers in the latter part of the match.

There have only been 2 international matches played in the venue. England won the ODI by 9 runs against the hosts after posting 325. In the T20I, Yuvraj Singh’s blitz ensured that India overhauled Australia’s formidable target of 201 with 2 balls to spare. It is safe to say that another high scoring contest is on the cards.

Recent Form

India: W-L-W-W-W

South Africa: L-W-W-L-W

Key Stats

• Team India needs only one victory to get to 450 ODI wins.
• Virat Kohli averages 28.64 in all completed ODIs in 2015 with just one century.
• Amit Mishra is 3 short of reaching 50 ODI wickets.
• Hashim Amla needs 27 runs to become the fastest batsmen to complete 6000 ODI runs.
• Imran Tahir’s bowling average of 21.82 is second only to Ajantha Mendis’ 21.17 for all ODI bowlers with a minimum of 50 wickets.