๐South Africa Tour of India - 3rd and deciding ODI - Delhi - 11/10/2022 at 1:30 PM IST๐
Super League points in focus as South Africa eye rare series win in India
Bavuma's form is a concern for visitors with India hoping for Gill and Dhawan to come good in decider
With a prize as big as a T20 World Cup on offer in little more than a month's time, and teams including the hosts of this three-match ODI series having their eye firmly set on the marquee event, it would be easy to dismiss the decider as not such a big deal. But it is. Especially for South Africa.
This is not just about winning an ODI series in India, something that has become so difficult that only three teams have been able to achieve that in almost 10 years - Australia in 2019 and South Africa in 2015. This is about World Cup Super League points, Mark Boucher's last bilateral series as the men's head coach and a last chance for white-ball skipper Temba Bavuma to find some form before the World Cup.
The last of those is the most pressing. Bavuma has only scored 11 runs in four innings since recovering from the elbow injury that sidelined him for three months. He then sat out the last match with illness and desperately needs time in the middle, especially because the rest of the top order has already had some. As a natural leader, he will doubtless see the problem with his own form when compared to his team-mates and may view this fixture as decisive in terms of whether he starts at the World Cup or not.
After Tuesday's third and final ODI, several members of the India squad will pack their bags and head to six different Indian venues to play in the domestic T20 tournament. For South Africa's full-strength squad, the journey is set to be much longer and the upcoming stakes, a lot higher. In less than a week's time, Temba Bavuma's side will face New Zealand in a T20 World Cup warm-up fixture in Brisbane.
While India could send their T20I regulars for the World Cup even before the ODI series against South Africa began, the visitors haven't been able to afford such luxuries. The aim for South Africa would've been to pick a 3-0 win over an India team sans their marquee stars in a bid to move up on the World Cup Super League (WCSL) table. Languishing at 11th, every win mattered and the points dropped in Ranchi is all but likely to send them to Zimbabwe for the 2023 ODI world cup qualifiers. Yet, the aim for now will be to cap off the series with a win in the national capital and shift focus to the shorter format with a victory behind them.
For India, this series is another reminder of the depth in quality that the home side possesses in white-ball cricket. For the players, a win on Tuesday could serve as a starting point to make their case for next year's 50-overs World Cup at home.
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