Their electric fielding has yet again made a decisive impact, as they had been taking smart catches and effecting tough run outs. He is their leading bowler in ODI cricket this year with 30 wickets at 22.46 and has been both containing and attacking in the middle overs.
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With the mission to base camp out of the way successfully, South Africa move onto the second, steeper ascent of their Indian climb. Alongwith Steyn and Morkel, Kyle Abbott and young Kagiso Rabada are also raring to have a go at the Indian batsmen.
But de Villiers was of the view that his side had equal quality in the spin department as well.
“We knew going into the second game that we needed to improve as a bowling unit. Not much to worry about except for the fact that he is a world-class bowler and needs to be respected”. “Keeping our focus and dealing with all this noise is the main goal”, he said. Overall, if the wicket is good and there is no dew, we have done well.
India (from) – Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt.), Ravichandran Ashwin, Stuart Binny, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Axar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Mohit Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Gurkeerat Singh and Amit Mishra. And De Villiers said that wickets could get even more slower as the series goes on. “We will have a look at the pitch, how dry it is, and the chances of it breaking up and assisting the spinners”. The boys are also disappointing about it. We would have liked to have a full game here. “India will try to bounce back and hopefully we will stop them”. I like the consistency in our selection and players growing in their roles and positions. We have just got to play very good cricket. Dhoni has always maintained that when a team is winning it is easy to hide a player who is off the boil. Despite the 0-2 loss in the three match T20 series, Dhoni has depended heavily on Ashwin who came away with figures of 1/26 and 3/24. Recently, however, he has spoken of his desire to play at No. 4, and he featured in that slot in the last two ODIs in Bangladesh, scoring a sedate 47 and then a counter-punching 69.
The 5-match ODI series will start on Sunday as the two sides take on each other at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur.
“It is going to be challenging but we have got very important momentum on our side and we are hoping to take that into tomorrow”. Statistically though, under Dhoni’s leadership, India have prospered in the fifty-over format – the high point being their victory in the 2011 World Cup. That said, Dhoni’s comment after the Kolkata washout that India would have played Rahane in that match does hint at his comeback.
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“We know it is a whole new story now”.
