India's hopes of registering their second ODI series win in South Africa will rely largely on how their batting line-up fares in the third and final game at Boland Park on Thursday.
India's lone ODI series win on South African soil came in 2018 when former captain Virat Kohli was at his peak, which was one big reason for their triumph that time. For an encore though, India will need their other batters as well, and not just the in-form Sai Sudharsan, to fire.
Sudharsan has been impressive in his two outings in the series so far, hitting an unbeaten 55 on debut and then a 62. But his opening partner Ruturaj Gaikwad could not support him from the other end.
The right-handed batter fell for five and four, respectively, in the first two ODIs as India’s first-wicket alliance ended at 23 in Johannesburg and four in Gqeberha.
In contrast, South African openers Tony de Zorzi, who cracked his maiden century, and Reeza Hendricks milked 130 to practically put India out of the game chasing 212 in the second ODI on Tuesday.
Similarly, Tilak Varma, who showed some early promise in his career, wasn't too comfortable at No.3 in conditions that were a tad challenging on Tuesday. The Hyderabad batter is yet to hit his peak.
It is important for Gaikwad and Varma, unless one of them gets replaced with Rajat Patidar for Thursday's game, to rediscover their range because India don't have the reliable and experienced Shreyas Iyer in the middle-order to shore up the innings. The 30-year-old Patidar is another top-order option, who usually bats at No.3.
However, India's batting group can draw some solace from the Boland Park pitch, which often tends to lean towards batsmen. The pitch for Tuesday's game had a bit of uneven bounce in it, but the Paarl deck often offers true bounce and carry that helps batters to free their arms and hit through the shots without any inhibitions.
India's bowlers, too, need to buck up as they struggled when conditions became easier for batting in the previous game. It remains to be seen if the team management continues with the same bowling attack.
