Visakhapatnam: The spotlight, like most times, will be on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma but the pressure would also be on India’s younger crop when the home side looks to avoid another embarrassing series loss to South Africa in the must-win third and final ODI here on Saturday.
A Raipur-like fumbling by India will see South Africa bag the ODI series too, closely after their 2-0 triumph in Tests.
Consecutive series defeats is unthinkable for India in the current scenario, particularly when the dressing room is perceived to be pulling in different directions.
A victory in this rubber can quell the chatter around the team for a while, and for that, Kohli and Rohit have to do the heavy lifting once again.
Both have been the undisputed masters of the 50-over format, and no strangers to such tight situations. After all, their legacy is built around taking down difficulties -- an exhilarating ride in itself in the last decade and half.
Now, standing at the door that opens only to the sunset, Kohli and Rohit will want another glorious chapter to be added to the long book of achievements. It’s not a mere ambition either. Kohli has two hundreds and a fifty in his last three innings, while Rohit has a hundred and two fifties in his last four outings.
Those numbers tell about their touch, class and hunger even in late 30s, indicating that they can still save the day for the team. But they would not complain about some meaningful support from the younger batters like it came forth in the last match through Ruturaj Gaikwad, who struck his maiden ODI hundred.
But Yashasvi Jaiswal is still to find his range in this series as an opener, and the gifted young man will be keen to convert his starts into a bigger score, for his and the team’s sake.
There is an obvious flaw in his batting against left-arm quicks, be it Jayden Seales of the West Indies or Marco Jansen and Nandre Burger in this series. He has been dismissed by left-armers 30 times (9 in Tests, 19 in T20Is and 2 in ODIs) in his career, predominantly while attempting a cut and its many versions, his staple diet outside the off-stump.
To his credit, Harshit Rana did a lot of good to his reputation with two wickets upfront with the new ball.