Johannesburg – India make no secret of their strategy in 50-over cricket. It’s not a subtle approach; their batsmen hit the ball big, hard and far, and when the dust has settled it’s usually Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men who emerge on top.
India’s batting has long been their strong suit and the current generation of batsmen, inspired by Sachin Tendulkar and made rich by their exploits in the IPL, are carrying on a strategy that has long been India’s hallmark.
They’ve been astonishingly successful, too. For, just like South Africa are clearly Test cricket’s best team, there can be no doubting India’s status as the One-Day format’s foremost outfit.
India have a staggering 63 percent winning rate in ODIs dating back two years, having won 52 out of 82 matches. They are the current world champions and this year claimed the ICC Champions Trophy crown in England, where South Africa were one of the sides flattened by a batting assault led on that occasion by Shikhar Dhawan.
The stylish, hard-hitting left-hand opener is the third-highest run-scorer in ODIs this year with 1 150 runs from 23 matches. Ahead of him on the run-scoring chart for the year are teammates Virat Kohli (1 237 runs in 31 matches at an average of 56.22) and Rohit Sharma (1 159 runs from 25 matches).
Between them they’ve score 11 centuries and made 19 half-centuries in ODIs this year and they’re scoring their runs at strike-rates (runs per 100 balls) ranging between 82 and 98. It’s a very scary prospect for a South African side who, as we’ve seen from the series with Pakistan that finished on Saturday, are still battling to achieve consistency, not just in terms of results – South Africa have a winning ratio of 50 percent in ODIs since the last World Cup – but also their own batting.
India have five batsmen among the top 20 runs scorers in ODIs this year, South Africa have just two – AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla. And, while South Africa have played less cricket this year than India, the figures remain alarming and would suggest that while this short three-match series is taking place on South African soil, it is India who probably go into Thursday’s opener at the Wanderers as favourites.
India have the batting power, but in South Africa they also face probably the toughest bowling line-up in the game. South Africa have a wealth of talent at their disposal and a bit like India with the bat, South Africa’s approach with the ball is an aggressive one. Containment for Dale Steyn and Co is secondary to taking wickets, and it doesn’t matter whether it’s the new ball, or Imran Tahir through the middle period with leg-spin, South Africa will attack the Indians constantly, which makes for an intriguing match-up.
As is often the case it is the sides’ respective weak areas which will decide the outcome of the series. India will choose from five seam bowlers, hoping that Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Mohit Sharma and Umesh Yadav, who is probably the quickest of the bunch, have to try and build enough pressure early to allow the strongest part of India’s attack, their spinners, to try and gain the upper hand against the South Africans. Dhoni has some options here and either Ravindra Jadeja or Ravichandaran Ashwin could even open the bowling. What they will do, like Pakistan’s spinners have done to South Africa, is create pressure through either stopping the runs in the middle period or taking wickets.
Quite what South Africa will do as far as their batting is concerned is anyone’s guess. It looked like they were settling onto a plan in the UAE with Quinton de Kock at the top of the order with Amla, but the need to accommodate Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis has meant more readjustment not just to the order but also to the way the rest are playing.
Smith needs to make an impact against India – more than once – or any aspirations he has of making the World Cup will be questioned.
JP Duminy and Dave Miller need to be more assertive in the middle order. Overall South Africa have a good record against India winning 40 of the 67 matches between the two sides and losing 25. It should be an entertaining week.
Sunday Independent