Rahane should be back to boost the middle order

The gears shift from the shortest to the shorter format of the game on one of the flattest pitches in the country. The Indians will have an opportunity to get back after the loss in the T20s where, to be honest, they were outplayed by the South Africans. The ODIs will not be an easy series as well because in the shorter format, the Proteas have looked good so far.

Their bowling attack has adjusted to these flat batting conditions and has looked well-balanced, in terms of both pace and spin. The young South African quicks, in the absence of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, have bowled with pace and skill which is a good sign for South African cricket.

It’s good to see Chris Morris in the squad. He would be a good back-up to Steyn and Morkel and to be honest, with the fast-improving Kagiso Rabada, I would actually go to the extent of giving Steyn a break for the initial couple of ODIs and keep him fresh for the Test series.

The key for South Africa will be how they bat for those 50 overs and how they pace their innings on these flat pitches. Kanpur will be slow and low and batting will become tougher as the game progresses.

The Indians, on the other hand, will have to quickly get back to winning ways. In spite of their loss in the T20s, I believe they are a formidable side in these conditions and it will be hard for South Africa to get past them in these five games. For me, once again the key will be Mahendra Singh Dhoni and once again like I have said before, I would love to see him bat up the order because a Dhoni with runs under his belt will be a much better leader than in the T20 matches. He also has to get back his touch and that can only happen by him spending time in the middle.

The Indian attack will be bolstered with a bit of pace and they need that balance in the squad as the T20 attack looked very medium-paced. Hopefully, and I believe surely, Ajinkya Rahane will be back in the middle which will make the batting a lot stronger and deeper.

Also, India needs to find a place for Stuart Binny and persist with him if they are looking to play with five bowlers in the longer format because the more he plays and the more he performs, the better he will get.

Sometimes, you need to take this gamble in order to create players.

(Gameplan)