IND vs SA 3rd ODI: Here's how Team India could line up against Proteas
Xtra Time Web Desk: Team India on Friday lost 2nd ODI of the series against South Africa as the Proteas sealed a 7 wicket win over KL Rahul’s boys to take an unassailable & decisive 2-0 lead in the much anticipated 3 match ODI series.
Under KL Rahul's leadership, the bowling unit has not performed to it's best, failing to pick up wickets in the crucial hours also keep momentum in the middle orders, in the last two ODI matches against South Africa. With experienced bowlers like Ravichandran Ashwin and Bhubaneswar Kumar Team India has just managed to pick 7 wickets in the first two matches.
The management could possibly test Jayant Yadav in the final contest in place of Ravichandran Ashwin as he failed to make an impact in the last two matches against the Proteas. The 32-year-old Yadav's only 50-over for India was in back in 2016 against New Zealand at home. The head coach also has pace bowling riches at his disposal.
Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini and Deepak Chahar have been waiting in the wings for their first game in the ODIs against South Africa might open doors for the pace triumvirate. Prasidh Krishna is also a handy but is an inexperienced option. It would be interesting to see, whether a change in strategy of the team management will lead to major bowling changes in the playing eleven.
While the Indian bowling unit needs some changes, India's middle order also needs to polish up. Skipper KL Rahul's stint in South Africa might be called anti-climatic, that he had started the Test series with a hundred. His long-term future as Team India's leader is at stake and there is a possibility of him returning to the middle-order. Virat Kohli may have scored 51 in the first game but what is visible is his lack of energy on the field after his exit from ODI leadership.
Venkatesh and Shreyas have also been giving unsatisfactory contributions so far adding to India's middle-order woes which has been the team's Achilles heel since the 2019 ODI World Cup.
With the ODI series already lost, India might want to test their bench strength in the dead rubber.
Predicted Team India playing XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Venkatesh Iyer, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Shardul Thakur, Jayant Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal, Suryakumar Yadav.
