For Yashasvi Jaiswal, sandwiched between the two batting icons, this will be another chance to emerge from their shadows. He’s done it in other formats, and there is no reason why the impressive left-hander cannot find his feet in ODIs. It is merely a matter of when. For that, he will first have to break free after a series of dismissals facing left-arm pace. Perhaps, it is a problem area of balance during stroke play, which he will be working on with the coaches and analysts.

The first ODI showed that India has a strong opponent to contend with in the three-match series. Although the hosts would be happy they got over the line in a heavily dew-affected run defense, South Africa refused to give up all the way through. The Proteus batting depth, with a strikingly different lower middle order, of ferocious power and six-hitting ability, will demand meticulous planning in India’s bowling meetings.

Middle order trouble

The presence or absence of dew will play a major role in deciding whether Washington Sundar should play. At Ranchi, Washington was underutilised – he bowled only 3 overs – with the captain not having the confidence to risk the off-spinner despite having 349 runs to play with.

Promoted to No 5, with Axar Patel not picked for the series, Washington could not score many with the bat either. Even as inconsistent selections dominate conversations, India may have to make a forced change by dropping the off-spinning all-rounder for Nitish Reddy if the conditions demand.

Washington was also in the news during the Test series, promoted to No 3 in the first Test, then slotted down in the lower-middle order in the next match. The left-hander’s potential, as a batter, has been spoken of ever since he played a crucial hand in the Brisbane Test of 2021. That he is yet to ascertain his primary skill set has been one of the biggest frustrations for India.

Selections have been a sticky point in strategy for Gautam Gambhir as head coach. Ruturaj Gaikwad, slotted to bat as a reserve opener when the squad was picked, played at No 4 in the last match. Surely, the Maharashtra batter will have more chances to stake his claim, even though the bench is brimming with talent with Tilak Varma and Rishabh Pant waiting it out. Gaikwad’s problem is his inexperience of having played no List A cricket before in the middle order.

It is here that Gambhir’s theory of batting flexibility conflicts with other ideas of role clarity. Given India was once blessed with some of the format’s best middle order performers in Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni, any middle overs slowdown like the one witnessed in Ranchi, will be scrutinised closely.

It could yet be that individual players like Washington and Gaikwad are motivated by the coach’s backing, considering opportunities will be scarce. Shreyas Iyer has otherwise left a big impact at No 4 in the past two ICC events.

With the last and only ODI played in Raipur before being low-scoring, efforts would be made to make this more batting friendly. Runs are the one currency that draws crowds in India. In Ranchi, 681 runs scored were aggregated, the most for an India-South Africa contest.

If the pitch has runs, the visitors’ bowling could also be challenged more. South Africa do not have a wrist spinner in their ranks making their bowling attack unidimensional. Marco Jansen’s rise though as an all-round prospect is unquestionable.

“I don’t know where the rankings sit but I’m sure Marco Jansen in any one of those formats will definitely be in the top 10. His contributions with the bat, with the ball, sometimes even both, have been immense to our success. Marco is still a young guy but he’s had a lot of international cricket under his belt and he’s only growing into his own,” Temba Bavuma told reporters. But even the in-form Jansen will need some more bowing support to trouble India.

India can do with some luck which has deserted them during toss time. They have traversed continents, captains have changed; but the count of losing the coin toss has shot up to 19.

If KL Rahul bucks the trend at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh stadium, he can well claim to be the lucky mascot with the captain’s armband.