Series on the line: India seek another ‘Ro-Ko’ masterclass in third ODI against South Africa

NEW DELHI: The spotlight will undoubtedly fall on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, but India’s young guns will also face immense pressure as the home side looks to avoid another humiliating series defeat to South Africa in the must-win third ODI in Visakhapatnam on Saturday.

A repeat of the Raipur-like missteps could hand South Africa the series, following their convincing 2-0 win in the Test leg.

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Back-to-back series losses are unthinkable for India, especially amid perceptions of a dressing room pulling in different directions.

A win in this final match would help silence critics, but it will once again require Kohli and Rohit to shoulder the bulk of the responsibility.

Hopes rest on Kohli and Rohit

Both Kohli and Rohit have long been the undisputed giants of the 50-over format, no strangers to high-pressure moments. Their careers have been defined by overcoming challenges, delivering thrilling performances over the past decade and a half.

Now, standing on the cusp of another defining moment, Kohli and Rohit aim to write yet another illustrious chapter in their storied careers – and it’s more than just a goal; it’s an expectation.

Kohli comes into the match in scintillating form, scoring two centuries and a fifty in his last three innings, while Rohit has notched a century and two fifties in his last four outings.

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These numbers underline their enduring class, skill, and hunger, proving that even in their late 30s, they remain fully capable of rescuing the team when it matters most.

But they would not complain about some meaningful support from the younger batters like it came forth in the last match through Ruturaj Gaikwad, who struck his maiden ODI hundred.

But Yashasvi Jaiswal is still to find his range in this series as an opener, and the gifted young man will be keen to convert his starts into a bigger score, for his and the team’s sake.

There is an obvious flaw in his batting against left-arm quicks, be it Jayden Seales of the West Indies or Marco Jansen and Nandre Burger in this series.

He has been dismissed by left-armers 30 times (9 in Tests, 19 in T20Is and 2 in ODIs) in his career, predominantly while attempting a cut and its many versions, his staple diet outside the off-stump.

Jaiswal and the team management cannot remain oblivious to something so obvious, and the work might have already begun to rectify it.

But if the trend continues, the management might just be forced to look at other options, and they have a genuine opener in Gaikwad in their ranks.

Tilak for Washington? Pitch and dew

The pitch at the ACA-VDCA stadium often tends to favor the batters, and India have a wonderful record here — wins seven in 10 ODIs from 2005 even though the last encounter against Australia ended in a defeat.

But that aside, India will think deeply whether to rest Washington Sundar and bring in Tilak Varma to beef up the middle-order batting line-up, which struggled to force the pace in the business end of the last two matches.

Rishabh Pant can also be a candidate but Tilak is a utility spinner and also adds value as a gun fielder.

KL Rahul’s breezy fifties carried India to a par score, but dew helped South Africa coming close to the target in Ranchi and going over the line in Raipur.

But in this coastal town, the humidity factor comes into play in the night despite a recent dip in temperature thanks to cyclonic weather.

A training session under lights on Friday will help India understand the conditions and thereby decide the combination a bit better.

Irrespective of that, India will hope that their young pacers Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana will tidy up their act and strongly support the impressive Arshdeep Singh.SA’s worries

On the other hand, South Africa will want to inflict on India their second ODI series defeat after 2022-23 when the Aussies went back as a 2-1 winner.

If so, it will be the Proteas’ first-ever ODI series victory on these shores.

But they will be monitoring the fitness of pacer Burger and batter Tony de Zorzi as both had to limp off the field at Raipur.

Teams (from):

India: KL Rahul (C/WK), Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rishabh Pant (wk), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Dhruv Jurel.

South Africa: Temba Bavuma (C), Ottneil Baartman, Corbin Bosch, Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, Nandre Burger, Quinton de Kock, Tony de Zorzi, Rubin Hermann, Keshav Maharaj, Marco Jansen, Aiden Markram, Lungi Ngidi, Ryan Rickelton, Prenelan Subrayen.

Match starts at 1.30pm.

(With PTI Inputs)