INDIA TOUR OF SOUTH AFRICA, 2021-22

Spotlight on middle-order as India look for series parity

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India went from 181 for 3 to 188 for 6 in chase in the series opener
India went from 181 for 3 to 188 for 6 in chase in the series opener © AFP

There is a thin line that India are treading in their pursuit to win while also operating with a primary motive of putting their ideas to the test.

As a result, despite the loss in the first ODI, there aren't ample reasons to fret for the visitors. The failings of the young middle-order once again let them down, but several more opportunities for them to rectify their mistakes stand to come along the way, starting from Friday, at the same venue, Paarl's Boland Park.

For as easy a win it was for South Africa in the end, the tourists did have their moments of being ahead of the game - especially at the start of the innings, with both bat and ball. In all the experiments though, India's ODI template didn't witness a shift from what went on during the successful tenure of Virat Kohli. There is a similarity in the tempo, which continues to remain conservative.

It has brought them a fair number of victories even if not an ICC trophy, and that could continue to remain a part of the process that KL Rahul stressed on: to 'continue on the good work that was being done earlier'. However, while with that approach the top order has found ample success, the burden has fallen on the middle order to adjust their game plans, which not many have succeeded in. The opportunity remains open for Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Venkatesh Iyer, and possibly even Suryakumar Yadav.

With the motive to experiment, it's almost amusing that a loss is not the worst thing to happen in a cricket match. India find themselves there, almost bizarrely needing their heavy-scoring top-order to flourish only as much as it would allow the young middle-order to be put to test.

As a disclaimer to that, Rahul had mentioned a key point before the start of the series, "That doesn't mean that we will go there and not try to win matches of cricket. We will do that but there is also a process that we want to follow to see where it takes us. We aren't afraid to make mistakes."

In all the trial and error, it will be interesting to see for how long they continue to remain fearless in the face of mistakes. Even as there is no additional significance to the three-match ODI series or any other 50-over contest lined up for the rest of the year, they would be wary of not making losing a habit.

As collateral to the process also stands individual motivations. To begin with, even though Rahul may only be standing-in for Rohit Sharma as the captain, he would have enough motivation to pick some victories in his early captaincy days.

Similar concerns lie with the experienced yet new spin pair of Yuzvendra Chahal and R Ashwin. While the former will look to shed his iffy form, the latter would like to make a mark on his return to 50-over internationals. Even on a slow pitch, there will be assistance for both of them, and they would be spurred on to make an impact in the middle overs for the team, if not for themselves.

But for as much as India's faultlines were exposed in the loss, the hosts too would do good to rectify their shortcomings in the victory - the weaknesses of the top order, in specific. Quinton de Kock has now been troubled for some time in limited overs cricket with the two-card trick of angling away length deliveries and full length balls on the stumps. Aiden Markram too has had his struggles. The promising batter hasn't got going this season against India and would aim to be among the runs.

When: Friday, January 21, 2022, 10:30 AM Local Time (2:00 PM IST)

Where: South Africa vs India, 2nd ODI, Boland Park, Paarl

What to expect: The weather is going to be hot and sunny. The pitch, much like in the first game, is expected to be slow and offer turn.

Team News:

South Africa

The home side are unlikely to tamper with their XI after a convincing win. So the plan of picking a specialist batter as a part-time off-spinner - Aiden Markram - is set to be repeated.

Probable XI: Quinton de Kock, Janneman Malan, Temba Bavuma (c), Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi

India

Despite their shortcomings, barring giving Jasprit Bumrah rest, there aren't enough reasons for India to tinker with their XI either.

Probable XI: KL Rahul (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, R Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal

What they said:

"In the past South African batters were known to dominate the seamers and come short against the spinners. We identified that as a weakness in our batting line-up. Credit to the coaching staff - Mark Boucher and more recently Justin Sammons - for giving us those tools to apply in the middle. We've come a long way in the way we approach spin and the way we think about spin, and executing those skills." - Rassie van der Dussen explains South Africa's newish aptitude for dealing with slow bowling.

"Every game is important for us, we all want to go out there and give our best performances. We haven't played one-day cricket for a while, we have the WC in mind and we want to get the best XI on the park. We'll make mistakes but we'll learn from them. - Indian skipper KL Rahul, after India's loss in the first ODI.

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