India will face southafrica at Centurion tomorrow in the second ODI of the six-match series. India after gaining a 1-0 lead from the ODI at Durban will be looking to ride over an “injury-hit”  South Africa and take a 2-0 lead.

India

Several positives can be taken from the first ODI for the Indian side.  While Rahanes” inclusion proved to be one of the finest decisions to be taken, the magical spells from the spin twins Chahal and Kuldeep came as a blessing in disguise.  The duo was successful in troubling the SA batsman in seam-friendly conditions.  Though Bhuvi and Jasprit accounted high, India will not look to alter their playing XI and most probably go with the same squad.

Batting concerns

Any Indian tour is incomplete without marathon innings from Rohit Sharma. The hard-hitting opener who is averaging low in safari conditions should be able to build his innings and make sure the middle order doesn”t face the new ball anytime soon.  Kohli who is looking in a fine touch will be looking to score big. Pandya and Jadhav if able to make an impact in the middle order, India should find it easy to win in these conditions.  Dhoni needs 90 odd runs to reach 10k ODI runs. If promoted to no:4, he should be able to hit that mark this series.

The hosts – Can they fight back?

On the other hand, the hosts will be missing the services of their star duo ABD and Faf.  Faf who succumbed to a finger injury has been ruled out of the series while ABD will be back to the pink ODI next Sunday at Johannesburg.  The burden will be on their openers who need to score big so as to hide the inexperienced and fragile middle order. Accelerated innings from Duminy and Miller can make SA defend any total with the quality of the bowling line-up they possess.

A new beginning for Markram?

Aiden Markram who is just 2 matches old to the ODI setup is set to lead the team tomorrow.  The 2014 U19 winning captain will be looking to trouble the scorecard and add few changes to the squad.  While the inclusion of Farhaan Beherdien is evident, he might consider bringing Lungisani Ngidi, who was the chief architect in SA”s win in the second test at Centurion.

Aiden Markram who is just 23, reminds us of Smith who was handed over the captaincy at a similar age and made SA one of the best teams in the world.

Can SA retain their No:1 ODI rank?

If India wins the match tomorrow, SA will lose their top position in the rankings. All eyes on SA and their ability to handle pressure to the situations, not to forget their new captain too.