Zee Media Bureau/Chaitan Papnai
New Delhi: The countdown for the much anticipated India’s tour to South Africa has started. India will kick-off their campaign from December 5, when both the teams will lock horns in the first ODI in Johannesburg.
India’s ODI side would be high on spirits after winning all the six ODI tournaments they have played this year. The foremost reason behind their success in the limited over cricket has been undoubtedly their strong batting line up. Especially, their top order that has been outstanding throughout this season.
India’s opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan has been in sublime form and can give any bowling attack a run for their money with their wide range of strokes. Consistency is the key for these two who have been scoring heavily at the top.
Then on one down, India have a new run-machine in the form of Virat Kohli. Virat, who is seen as the future Indian skipper, has shown his hunger for runs in all forms of the game. At the moment he is the most dangerous batsman in the world, who has the ability to change the course of the game single-handedly.
In the middle order, India also have batsmen like Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni and even Ravindra Jadeja, who can score runs at a rapid pace, albeit these southpaws are struggling a bit with their willow.
If India have such a robust batting line up in the ODIs, then South Africa too have one of the best bowling attacks in the world. They have Dale Steyn, one of the most fearsome bowlers in contemporary cricket. His ability to move the ball away from right-handers with a speed of around 150 kmp/h makes him a dangerous bowler to deal with. His deadly bowling can easily create doubts in the mind of any batsman.
Recently, on a TV show, world number one ODI batsman, Virat Kohli confessed that Dale Steyn was the toughest bowler he had ever faced.
Apart from Steyn, Morkel brothers, Vernon Philander, Lonwabo Tsotsobe can also be fatal on those swift and bouncy African tracks. So the real contest is between Indian batsmen and South African bowlers – a battle worth watching for.
