Daijiworld Media Network

Centurion, Dec 11: The first phase of the much hyped but disappointingly shortened SA tour ends today. The hosts have already clinched this ODI series with massive back-to-back wins. The in-form young Indian brigade which conquered 6 series wins this year has been left broken. They must be desperately searching for a win here, if only to boost their morale before the Tests begin. South Africa, on the other hand, will be hoping they crush India completely and make a clean sweep.

Pitch report: 'There is little grass and the track has a dry look to it. Win the toss and bat first,' says Shaun Pollock.

On the weather front, there is some rain around. However, it will not affect the match too much.

South Africa have won the toss and have opted to bat

AB de Villiers: 'We are going to bat first. It looks a good wicket. We do not have a lot of big totals here but we are looking forward to doing better here. In ODI cricket we have to be aggressive. We need to pick up wickets. We have been doing it. We have three changes. Kallis, Morkel and Steyn resting. Tahir is in, Henry Davids and Wayne Parnell are in as well.'

MS Dhoni: 'We were looking to bat first. It looks a good wicket. When you are young, you want to play fire with fire. That's the reason the played a lot of shots. The more games they play, the more they will learn. I'm not really disappointed. We want to have wickets in hand and then accelerate in the middle. That's how it has been working for us.'

Teams:

South Africa (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock(w), Henry Davids, Hashim Amla, Jean-Paul Duminy, AB de Villiers(c), David Miller, Ryan McLaren, Wayne Parnell, Vernon Philander, Imran Tahir, Lonwabo Tsotsobe

India (Playing XI): Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav
The Preview, by Nikhil Narain

They came, they saw but they were conquered! A lot was expected of the flamboyant, young and talented Indian batting line-up in the ODI series against South Africa but Dale Steyn and co. had other plans. And they worked!

India failed to win their seventh consecutive ODI series in 2013. Not only were the World Cup and Champions Trophy winners beaten, but they were annihilated and capitulated to the pace, swing and bounce of the South African quicks.

More disappointing than the results, is the manner in which the Indian batsmen have fallen prey to the Proteas attack. None of them have shown any application or the will to spend some time at the crease in conditions that have suited fast and swing bowling.

Having already lost the three-match series 2-0, India will play for pride for as the number one ranked team in ODIs there is a lot of reputation at stake and the visitors will be desperate to avoid a whitewash. India's status quo at the top of the ICC table would not get affected by the result of the match but that would be the least of the concerns for MS Dhoni and his men.

The contest will be anything but a dead rubber. AB de Villiers, the South African skipper had warned against labeling his side 'underdogs' and one glance at the scoreline tells us exactly why! The hosts would go for the kill for there are psychological points to be gained before the two-Test series apart from the lust of sweeping the ODIs 3-0.

India

The three mustketeers - Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli have failed to produce the goods at the top of the order, and that, to a large extent has been the reason for India's shambolic display with the bat. Rohit, in particular would be disappointed as he got a start in both the matches but failed to convert them into meaningful contributions.

Ajinkya Rahane was unlucky in Durban and might still hold his place above Yuvraj Singh. Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja, all have got a few runs in the first two matches but too much has been left to do for them by the total failure of the top three.

The bowling has been disappointing to say the least. None of the 'medium-pacers', barring Mohammad Shami, have looked threatening. R Ashwin has been the best bowler for the visitors in the series so far but he too hasn't been able to make inroads in the strong South African batting line-up.

South Africa

Quinton de Kock is in the form of his life! With magnificent back-to-back centuries in Johannesburg and Durban, he has been the thorn in the flesh for the Indian bowlers. He and Hashim Amla have added two consecutive 150-plus partnerships and tormented the toothless Indian attack.

With AB de Villiers, JP Duminy and David Miller in the middle order, the home team have quite a formidable batting line-up. Henry Davids will replace Jacques Kallis who is being rested for the fixture. Ryan McLaren provides de Villiers with a genuine all-round option. He is a useful seamer and more than capable of hitting the long ball at the death.
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Dale Steyn has been the destroyer-in-chief and the tormentor-in-chief of the Indian batting. With 6 wickets from two matches at an economy rate of 2.8, the South African pace ace has been nothing short of spectacular. He has received excellent support from Morne Morkel who has troubled the Indians with his pace and bounce. Vernon Philander, Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Ryan McLaren have also chipped in with crucial blows and made batting miserable for the visitors.

Pitch and Weather conditions

The pitch is expected to have a tinge of green and assist the faster bowlers. Rain is expected to affect the match at some stage and there is a possibility of a curtailed encounter.

Quotes:

What are missing are partnerships. Over the last year, we have maintained good partnerships and it is not happening here: Rohit Sharma

We have kept up the intensity throughout and psychologically, we have made inroads going into the Test series: Ryan McLaren
Sharma, Amit Mishra