With India being outplayed in the Twenty20s, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will face added pressure to perform and lead India from the front against a formidable South African unit in the five-match ODI cricket series starting in Kanpur on Sunday.
Dhoni will have to answer his critics as his captaincy is being questioned at a juncture where heir apparent and Test captain Virat Kohli is waiting in the wings.
Team India had suffered an unexpected loss in Bangladesh in June and the captain will have to come up with the goods against the Proteas starting with the first ODI in Kanpur.
On the face of it, India appear to have a well-balanced side but will not have it easy against the South Africans, who are high on confidence following theirT20 series win.
A few changes are expected in the Indian side as Umesh Yadav returns to provide much needed zing to the pace attack while batting all-rounder Gurkeerat Singh Mann will be keen to make his India debut after a string of stellar performances at the ‘A’ and domestic level.
Having batted at the number 4 position against Bangladesh, Dhoni may stick to the spot and will be eager to make the most of his promotion in the batting order.
While Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan are likely to open, Ajinkya Rahane could again find himself playing in the middle-order replacing Ambati Rayudu, who was dismal in the two
T20s (he was dismissed for naught in both matches).
Rohit, who struck a delightful ton in a losing cause at Dharamsala, would want to carry on in the same vein and his opening partner Dhawan will be eyeing a revival of fortune after two failures in the T20s.
Going by his lofty standards, Kohli too has not been as prolific as he would like to be and the challenge of taking on tough opponents like the Proteas is all that he might need to stamp his class once again.
On the bowling front, Dhoni faces a bigger headache with his attack putting up a pedestrian performance at Dharamsala and Cuttack. Barring lead off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, none of the other bowlers were able to trouble the opposition batsmen and the evening dew made things worse for them.
Yadav's return makes the pace battery looks more potent but Bhuvneshar Kumar will have to step up his game on his home ground, and likewise for fellow medium pacer Mohit Sharma.
The Green Park surface usually plays slow and low and Dhoni will have to decide the best bowling combination -- he has three specialist spinners, and as many faster bowlers and sole all-rounder Binny at his disposal.
The South African attack, on the other hand, looks ominous with the return of speedsters Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn, who were rested in the T20s.
One-day skipper AB de Villiers will also have the services of Kyle Abbott and Kagiso Rabada, who impressed with their pace in the T20s. With many part-times in their ranks, Imran Tahir and Aaron Phangiso are the only two specialist spinners in the squad.
With batsmen of the class and form of the dangerous De Villiers and Duminy South Africa look set for the battle.
However, their batsmen overall have not been fully tested so it remains to be seen how they fare under pressure.
Squad:
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Ravichandran Ashwin, Stuart Binny, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Axar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Mohit Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Gurkeerat Singh, Amit Mishra
South Africa: AB De Villiers (captain), Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, Faf Du Plessis, JP Duminy, David Miller, Farhaan Behardien, Chris Morris, Khaya Zondo, Aaron Phangiso, Imran Tahir, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Kyle Abbott, Kagiso Rabada.
