AFP PHOTO / Manjunath KIRAN /

Centurion: A historic series triumph sealed, India are expected to put their bench strength to test while a vanquished South Africa would aim for a consolatory win when the two sides square off in the sixth and final ODI, here tomorrow.

The Men in Blue have already won the six-match series with a 4-1 margin, after victories in Durban, Centurion, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. Their only loss came at the rain-affected fourth ODI in Johannesburg.

With victory in the last game, India also confirmed their No.1 spot in the ICC ODI Rankings, taking over from South Africa who was sitting atop at the start of this series.

Having won the series, India would like to carry on momentum, especially with the three-match T20I series to follow soon after. Yet, the visitors would also like to find a balance between going all out in a dead rubber and resting a few players keeping in mind a long overseas schedule later this year.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has nearly played non-stop since the limited-overs leg of the tour of Sri Lanka, featuring in 19 ODIs and six T20Is as well as two Tests on this tour.

Jasprit Bumrah too has played 20 ODIs since that Lanka tour, along with eight T20Is and his workload has only increased given that he played through the Test series here as well. Some rest will do both of them some good especially ahead of the next contest.

Alternately, India’s second line of pace attack needs some attention. Since that Sri Lanka tour, the Men in Blue have played 20 ODIs and the Kumar-Bumrah duo has not featured together in only one of them — at Bengaluru against Australia.

One way to look at this is the splendid job they have done as the foremost new-ball pairing in limited-overs’ cricket.

The other way, of course, is that Team India is too dependent on them and should look to build back-up options, given the preparatory mode for the 2019 World Cup.

Mohammed Shami has only played three ODIs since the 2015 World Cup. Ever since he returned from injury, he has featured twice against West Indies (2017) and then once against Australia.

Shardul Thakur, the fourth pacer in this current squad, has only ever played in two ODIs. It suffices to say that India currently do not have a reliable second-choice pace attack and despite the success of Kumar-Bumrah combination, this aspect needs urgent attention.

The middle-order continues to be another area of focus. There has only been one half-century contributed from Nos. 4-7 in this series. After Ajinkya Rahane’s effort in Durban, only MS Dhoni came close at the Wanderers when he played the situation with 42 not out off 43 balls.

Shreyas Iyer has got starts in both the matches he has played but failed to capitalise. Rahane too has fizzled out since his comeback at No.4. Hardik Pandya has scored 26 runs in four innings in this ODI series. The slow nature of pitches is one of the reasons being attributed to this downturn.

With the top-order doing well and essentially eating out 30-35 overs in every game, the middle-order has been forced to bat in high gear most of the time.

It also needs to be mentioned that South Africa’s death bowling is seen to be their only high point of the series so far.

Either way, the Indian think-tank needs to pay more attention to their middle-order woes. Manish Pandey and Dinesh Karthik are in the squad yet it is tough to see both of them get a game here.

The Indian team opted not to train today, taking this pre-match day off, on what has been a long and hectic tour.

South Africa, on the other hand, would want to finish this ODI series on a high and take fresh guard for the Twenty20 International series, which gets underway on February 18.

A clutch of their first-choice bowlers have been rested ahead of Australia s tour here, and it is the last bow for the likes of Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel, Imran Tahir and Lungi Ngidi against India on this trip. They will be keen to make an impression.

It remains to be seen if the Supersport Park pitch plays any different from how it did in the previous game here, which India won by nine wickets in rampant fashion.

Teams (from):

India: Virat Kohli (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur.

South Africa: Aiden Markram (capt), Hashim Amla, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Lungisani Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Khayelihle Zondo, Farhaan Behardien, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), AB de Villiers.

(PTI)

Port Elizabeth (South Africa), Feb 12 (IANS) Failing to maintain their triumphant run after a defeat in the fourth One-Day International (ODI), India will aim to clinch their maiden bilateral 50-overs series against the Proteas in South African conditions in the fifth encounter here on Tuesday.

India started on the front foot clinching the first three matches by a comprehensive margins. South Africa, however, bolstered by their victory in the last tie will have an opportunity to end the six-match series on an even note.

The recent history which has seen India losing against the Proteas in the 50-over format at the South African conditions could change under the flamboyant captaincy of Virat Kohli.

In 2013-14, India were outclassed by South Africa 0-2 while in 2010-11 the visitors gave a tough fight but failed to get hold of the series, losing it by a slender 2-3 margin.

Kohli, with 393 runs in the ODI series so far, which contains two centuries and identical numbers of unbeaten knocks, has led India from the front to heap trouble on the already depleted hosts.

Alongside the skipper, opener Shikhar Dhawan has looked in fine nick throughout the series and will be the key to give India a dominant total on board in the encounter on Tuesday.

There is also a strong possibility of Kohli dropping opener Rohit Sharma, who has failed to get going in the series, scoring merely 40 runs in the four matches.

The skipper in that case, might fall in the trouble of selecting from plenty amongst Dinesh Karthik, Manish Pandey or Kedar Jadhav.

Equally well complimented bowling department, led by the wrist spinning pair of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, who have been difficult to be picked up by South Africa throughout the series, will continue to be the lethal weapons for India.

However, for South Africa wicket-keeper batsman Heinrich Klaasen, who played his first match of the series and assured them a comprehensive victory in the rain-curtailed encounter in Johannesburg, had looked to tackle the Indian wrist spinners well.

Batsmen Hashim Amla, Jean-Paul Duminy, AB de Villiers and David Miller, who can win their side a match single-handedly on a given day, might also look to come hard on the formidable Indian side, with nothing to loose.

In the bowling, all eyes will be on pacers Kagiso Rabada and Lungisani Ngidi to provide their side with flurry of wickets at the St George’s Park.

However, the weather department has forecast rain to hit the city and it may affect the team composition.

Squad:

India: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Ajinkya Rahane, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel.

South Africa: Aiden Markram (captain), Jean-Paul Duminy, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Morne Morkel, David Miller, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Andile Phehlukwayo, Lungisani Ngidi, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Imran Tahir, Farhaan Behardien, Khaya Zondo, Tabraiz Shamsi.

(IANS)

Skipper Virat Kohli slammed his 34th One-day International ton to help India post a competitive 303/6 against South Africa, even as the visitors’ untested middle order failed to click in the third of the six-match ODI series, at Newlands here on Wednesday.

Continuing his glorious run in the tour, Kohli (160 not out off 159 balls; 4X12, 6X2), who slammed 112 and 46 not out in the first two ODIs, shouldered the Indian innings single-handedly to power his team to a huge total in anticipation that the visitors register a historic 3-0 lead on South African soil.

Barring the 139-run second wicket stand with opener Shikhar Dhawan (73 off 63; 4X12), Kohli received very little support from the other batsmen, before tailender Bhuvneshwar Kumar (16 off 19; 4X1) chipped in to add an unbeaten 67 runs for the seventh wicket.

Put in to bat, India were immediately on the backfoot with opener Rohit Sharma (0) continuing his struggle at the top of the order, before Kohli and Dhawan joined forces to take the attack to the opposition.

Kohli started off vulnerably, escaping an lbw call on nought off Kagiso Rabada, thanks to a huge inside edge but settled down quickly to launch the counter attack.

Dhawan, at the other end, continued his merciless attack on the home bowlers, to bring up his 25th ODI fifty off 42 balls with a boundary off leg-spinner Imran Tahir.

South Africa’s frustration was evident from the fact that the Indian pair went on to better their own record (93 runs) of the highest partnership for the second wicket against the Proteas.

Just when the Indian pair started looking invincible, part-time off-spinner Jean Paul Duminy came to the rescue of the hosts with the crucial wicket of Dhawan, who chipped wide off midwicket only to be latched on by stand-in captain Aiden Markram.

Duminy jolted India once again with the wicket of No.4 Ajinkya Rahane (11), before all-rounder Hardik Pandya (14), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (10) and Kedar Jadhav (1) made their way back in quick succession.

In the middle of all the drama, Kohli kept his calm to bring up his 34th ODI century off 119 balls, when he flicked Duminy behind leg for two runs.

Precariously placed at 236/6, India could hardly dream of a total past 300, but Bhuvneshwar Kumar repeated his feats of the Test series and gave Kohli the license to hammer the South Africans at will.

For the hosts, Duminy was the pick of the bowlers returning 2/60, while Rabada, Chris Morris, Andile Phehlukwayo and Tahir chipped in with one wicket apiece.

Brief Scores: India 303/6 (Virat Kohli 160 not out, Shikhar Dhawan 76, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 16 not out; J.

P. Duminy 2/60) vs South Africa.

(IANS)

Dubai: India skipper Virat Kohli on Thursday swept the International Cricket Council (ICC) annual awards after being named the Cricketer of the Year and the ODI Cricketer of the Year.

Rising Indian wrist-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal was adjudged the T20I Performer of the Year.

Kohli scored six centuries in the 50-over format last year at an average of 76.84.

Kohli’s career average stands at 55.74 which is the highest ever by a batsman from a full member nation.

Chahal, meanwhile, hogged all the limelight with his incredible haul of 6/25 against England in Bengaluru to seal the series decider.

The Haryana lad has also emerged as a match-winner for the country in white-ball cricket.

(IANS)