Ranchi: After losing the series opener to South Africa by nine runs in Lucknow, India will be eyeing corrections of their mistakes in all departments of the game when they take the field for a must-win second ODI at the JSCA International Stadium on Sunday.
With Washington Sundar drafted in the squad as Deepak Chahar’s replacement on the eve of the match, it means that India will be a pace option less in Sunday’s match, especially after Mohammed Siraj and Avesh Khan couldn’t impress in the first ODI at Lucknow apart from leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi being expensive in his first 50-over match for India.
Moreover, India had plenty of misfields and dropped catches at various junctures in the truncated match, allowing South Africa to reach 249/4 in 40 overs, especially with David Miller (75 not out off 63 balls) and Heinrich Klassen (74 not out off 65 balls) sharing a rollicking stand of 139 runs off 106 balls to rescue the visitors’ from 110/4.
In the batting, captain Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, debutant Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan fell without contributing much, leaving Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson to step up to the occasion. Though Iyer made a counter-attacking fifty and Samson displayed great shots in his unbeaten 86, India fell short by nine runs, as being at 51/4 in 17.4 overs came back to haunt the hosts’.
The knocks of Iyer and Samson in the middle-order were huge positives for India from the game in Lucknow apart from Shardul Thakur picking two wickets and making a quick cameo of 33 with the bat. With the ODI World Cup happening next year in this time in the country, Dhawan needs to get big runs to be in the reckoning for opening the batting for India. The hosts’ will also hope that Gill and Kishan step up to score runs after the off-day in Lucknow.
For South Africa, getting those ten crucial World Cup Super League points with the narrow win in the first ODI will be a huge motivating factor to seal the series in Ranchi and inch closer to automatic qualification for ODI World Cup next year in India. Miller and Klaasen, who have been the nemesis of India previously in white-ball matches, will be looking to continue their rich vein of form.
The concern points for the Proteas will be the form of their captain Temba Bavuma, who hasn’t been in double-digit scores on the tour till now. With the T20 World Cup in Australia two weeks away, South Africa need their captain to be amongst the runs.
With the ball, South Africa were tight and got wickets at crucial times to stop India at 240/8. But Tabraiz Shamsi, the left-arm wrist-spinner, had a forgetful time in Lucknow, In his eight overs, he conceded 89 runs for his one wicket, including being hit for 21 runs in the final over by Samson. With pitches in Ranchi being kind to both pacers and spinners, South Africa can be upbeat about Shamsi getting his groove with the ball.
Squads:
India: Shikhar Dhawan (Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer (vice-captain), Rajat Patidar, Rahul Tripathi, Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Shahbaz Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, Mohammed Siraj and Washington Sundar.
South Africa: Temba Bavuma (captain), Quinton de Kock (wicket-keeper), Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Janneman Malan, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada and Tabraiz Shamsi.
(IANS)
