A botched run chase in Rajkot saw India fall to a defeat which means they trail to South Africa 2-1 with two matches left in their ODI series which concludes over the next few days.
The two sides meet in the fourth game in Chennai on Thursday and for India it is a must win match. South Africa have two bites of the cherry in terms of winning the series but they will want to get it over and done with straight away so this should be a hugely competitive game.
India have lacked a bit of oomph with the bat at the end of the innings in this series which is strange given all the firepower they have in the country. The likes of Suresh Raina haven’t contributed anything and now would be a good time. Their seam bowling has given MS Dhoni a few headaches too.
South Africa have hung in there in the two matches they have won in this series and turned it around in the last 10 overs of their bowling innings. They would like to put up more runs and make things a bit easier for themselves.
You would think India might be looking to change Suresh Raina but there isn’t really anyone queuing up for his place and the fact he could bowl some off spin here could save his spot. Umesh Yadav has been dumped so S Aravind could come in for him with the ball.
South Africa have been forced into a change with JP Duminy suffering a hand injury and that is a blow not just with the bat but with the ball too. Dean Elgar was sent for as cover but he only arrived close to the day of the game so it might be too soon for him. Chris Morris is another option to replace Duminy but South Africa will be wanting to find some extra spin options.
The MA Chidambaram Stadium will be familiar to followers of the Indian Premier League where the Chennai Super Kings are the home team. The ground will be staging its 20th ODI and its first since the end of 2012 so it is a big day for the area.
India have a 5-4 record on this ground while South Africa lost their only match here in 2011 which was a low scoring game against England in the World Cup. They were undone by spin on that occasion and given the heat and humidity in Chennai we should expect this wicket to slow up and turn quite sharply too.
Interestingly both umpires in this match will be home umpires after the neutral umpire Aleem Dar was pulled out of the tour by the ICC after threats that were made which is quite sad but realistically you would have to think that could favour the home side.
Conditions certainly favour the hosts in this match and I’m backing them to force a decider. I think the spin friendly conditions will suit India and MS Dhoni will know how to pace a run chase here given that he plays all of his IPL cricket on this ground. I think the Duminy injury hurts South Africa more than it should so I’m with the home side here.
MS Dhoni will know every inch of this wicket so he looks a decent enough price to be the top batsman for the home side in this match. He top scored for India in the second ODI and made a solid 47 in the previous match and with the likes of Dhawan and Raina woefully out of form two dangers could be less dangerous than normal. Dhoni has batted four in the series and at 6/1 he’s a fair price here.
Back India to win 4th ODI for a 5/10 stake at 1.80 with BetVictor
Back MS.Dhoni Top India Batsman for a 1/10 stake at 7.00 with BetVictor
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