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South Africa’s dominating performance in the recently-concluded Test series against India has shattered a lot of confidence surrounding Indian cricket: the low-scoring win in Kolkata followed by the record 408-run thumping in Guwahati has left the Indian team reeling and Gautam Gambhir’s role in jeopardy.
India will want to get back to winning ways as soon as possible just to earn a touch of goodwill, and the ODI series set to begin in Ranchi today will provide an opportunity to do just that. Two of the team’s finest and most popular players mark their return to international action on home soil, and that means Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will have the chance to slightly restabilise things with the energy and ability they bring to the 50-over game.
This was a fact that didn’t escape Proteas captain Temba Bavuma, who himself will want to leave a statement with cross-format success on the subcontinent. Reflecting on facing a powerhouse India team with its two flagbearers after taking down a young Test team still finding its feet, Bavuma noted a keen awareness of how difficult and unique a challenge this could be.
‘Two big guys’ pose challenge for South Africa
“I think it’s exciting for the locals, having the two living legends come back and play on Indian soil for a while. There’s a different type of energy when those two big guys are around, so it’s something that we’ll really be looking forward to,” said the South African captain.
While Rohit and Kohli’s skills and mountain of runs in this format speak for themselves, as does their ability to win matches by putting India on their back even in the twilight of their respective careers, Bavuma respected that they also bring an intangible sort of strength to the unit that is in search of a little bit of leadership.
With KL Rahul set to captain India following injuries to Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer, India will nonetheless believe they have the talent and the ability to win an ODI series at home. For Bavuma and South Africa, the story will instead be about keeping tabs on Kohli and Sharma, with the knowledge that putting pressure on the two Indian greats would reflect onto the rest of the players, and allow the Proteas to continue their momentum.
“Like with any other players, we’ll do our preparation around them and come up with whatever tactics we feel are necessary. We know the energy is going to be a bit different, but it’s an exciting one,” concluded Bavuma.
