This has been a busy end to 2013 for both the teams. A little more glamorous for India. They defeated Australia in an ODI series by 3-2, then whitewashing test series with West Indies, and again winning their sixth straight ODI series.
It will be the first Indian foreign test tour after the retirement of the master class trio of Sachin, Dravid and Laxman. Young Indians have responded to this challenge well by the in-form Rohit, Dhawan and Kohli. They have scored runs whenever the team needed. Now it is about adapting to the conditions. Understanding the pace and bounce of African pitches. ODI series will surely be preparing Indians for test challenge, but they need to make sure that they don’t lose their reputation as the world No1 ODI team.
Result of first ODI will surely give strong advantage to winning side and will release the pressure of playing against some of the best cricketers around the world.
Key players:
Virat Kohli should be the stabilising factor for team India, he has scored a lot of runs in cricket in a short period, but now he need to anchor the team and make partnerships to counter the much feared South African pace attack.
Dale Steyn has been expressive about his desires to play India since last month, he says he has created plans against each Indian batsmen but it will depend on his execution. He can be serious threat to the inexperienced Top order.
Quotes:
I have had a look at the wicket and there's a lot of grass on it. It hasn't seen a lot of sun yet. But it should play the same over the course of 100 overs. Whether we bat first or second, or bowl first or second, I am not too fussed about that: AB de Villiers.
What we have seen in ODIs here is that the pitches provide something for the fast bowlers but at the same time, if you are a batsman who likes the ball coming on to the bat, this is the place to play. Johannesburg can be a high-scoring venue: MS Dhoni.
(Match starts at 5:30 pm at Wandererd South Africa)
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