Raina’s performance a welcome augury for Dhoni

It was a good toss to win in Chennai and once India got to 299, South Africa had to do all the catching up. It has been difficult batting second in this series and it was no different at the Chepauk and barring the excellent show by AB de Villiers, the South African batting found it hard to score runs on that surface.

India levelled the five-match series to set up a decider at Mumbai. It has been a hard-fought series and Sunday’s game should be a cracker.

Once again, the toss will be crucial as the 22 yards at the Wankhede will have a lot of spin but both the South African and Indian pacers will also enjoy bowling on the surface as the pitch will have some carry in spite of how dry it will be.

Virat Kohli once again showed his class and confirmed why he should bat at number three in these conditions. He is a match-winner at that position. Not only did he set up the innings, ably supported by Ajinkiya Rahane and Suresh Raina but went on to get a big hundred. Also when he gets set, he ensures there is a batsman in the last 10 overs which is so important to accelerate and this helped India set up a target of 300 - which was always going to be difficult for De Villiers & Co. to chase down.

Raina’s time in the middle must have also satisfied the captain and his worry of having a finisher down the order could go away for the last match of the series. With the wicket assisting, the Indian spin trio never let South Africa get off the block and that kept the visitors under constant pressure to which they finally succumbed.

The South Africans lost too many wickets early in the run-chase. They surely knew that spin in the middle-overs would be a tough challenge and the likes of Hashim Amla and Quinton De Kock should have been more conservative. With J.P. Duminy not in the squad, their batting looked a little brittle lower down as number seven is a crucial batting position in one-day cricket. De Villiers was outstanding on a turning pitch and his quick feet allowed him to play shots on both sides of it.

India have come back well in the one day series but they know that the last game is anybody’s and they will have to play well in the conditions. They have been no team combination headaches after Raina’s performance and will go unchanged. South Africa need a fit Morkel and also balance at number 7. Duminy has been replaced by Dean Elgar – will they risk him in that game at the top and get Amla to bat at No. 3? Elgar also bowls a bit of left-arm spin and might get help on the Mumbai pitch.

The question is: who is the favourite? To me no one; maybe the team that wins the toss, but we must all remember that India haven’t lost many one-day series at home over the past 15 years. So South Africa will have to be extraordinary on a surface where their pacers will enjoy bowling.

(Gameplan)