Shikhar Dhawan-led Team India would aim to secure back-to-back series wins over South Africa on Tuesday. The second-string Indian side will meet the Proteas in the series decider at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Indian team captain Shikhar Dhawan with teammates Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Siraj during the 2nd ODI cricket match between India and South Africa(PTI)
After suffering a couple of rare batting failures against the Proteas, veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan will hope to return back to scoring ways in the series decider between Team India and South Africa at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday. Leading the second-string Indian side in the third and final One Day International (ODI), local hero Dhawan is also tasked to secure Team India’s come-from-behind series win at the famous Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Dhawan’s opening partner Shubman Gill has also failed to fire for India in the three-match series. Taking the No.3 batting position in the absence of Virat Kohli, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) opener Ruturaj Gaikwad capped off a mediocre outing in the 1st ODI. The CSK opener then failed to retain his place in the 2nd ODI.
Debutant Shahbaz Ahmed and Deepak Chahar’s replacement Washington Sundar were roped in as reinforcements for the 2nd ODI that India won by 7 wickets. After sending most of their white-ball specialists to Australia for the T20 World Cup, the VVS Laxman-coached side has so far handed debuts to Ravi Bishnoi and Ahmed in the ongoing three-match series.
With the likes of Rahul Tripathi, Rajat Patidar and Mukesh Kumar waiting in the wings, it will be interesting to see whether Team India opts to continue the tradition of handing ODI debuts to uncapped IPL stars. Enjoying their purple patch in the 50-over format, Shreyas Iyer (163), Sanju Samson (116) and Ishan Kishan (113) have been the leading run-getters in the South Africa series.
Samson’s heroics failed to rescue India in the series opener as the hosts lost the 1st ODI by 9 runs. Making a strong comeback in the 2nd ODI, Dhawan & Co. restored parity in the series by registering a 7-wicket win courtesy of Iyer’s scintillating century. Besides the troika of Iyer, Kishan and Samson, pacer Mohammed Siraj, all-rounder Shardul Thakur and spinner Kuldeep Yadav are also sure-starters in the series decider against the Proteas on Tuesday.
India’s predicted XI for the 3rd ODI against South Africa:
Openers: Shikhar Dhawan(c), Shubman Gill
Middle Order: Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson (wk)
Power-hitter: Ishan Kishan
Spinners: Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi/Shahbaz Ahmed
Pace bowlers: Shardul Thakur, Avesh Khan, Mohammed Siraj.
India’s squad for South Africa ODIs: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson(w), Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Avesh Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Siraj, Rahul Tripathi, Rajat Patidar, Mukesh Kumar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Washington Sundar.
