India have yet another chance to close out the ongoing six-match series when they take on South Africa in the fifth ODI at St. George's Park in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday, February 13.
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Virat Kohli's men, who have a 3-1 lead, head into the match on the back of a five-wicket defeat in the rain-hit fourth ODI in Johannesburg on Saturday, February 10, as South Africa maintained their unbeaten Pink Day streak by gunning down a revised 202 run-target with 2.3 overs to spare.
Missed opportunity in Johannesburg
India missed out on an opportunity to clinch an unprecedented series win after multiple breaks due to bad weather and rain affected their momentum. Despite Shikhar Dhawan's ton and Kohli's half-century, the visitors managed only 289 on the board as the middle and the lower-middle order struggled to get going after the interruptions.
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South Africa, who were completely outplayed by wrist spin in the first three ODIs, successfully negated threats from Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav.
In fact, the two wrist spinners, who have 24 wickets between them from four matches, were taken to the cleaners by the likes of AB de Villiers, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen and Andile Phehlukwayo.
As Dhawan pointed out at the post-match press conference, the wrist spinners did struggle to grip and turn the ball after the rain break on Saturday.
Can the wrist spinners comeback strong in Port Elizabeth?
Nonetheless, the focus will once again be on the wrist spinners as they will look to make a comeback in Port Elizabeth, which sports one of the slowest surfaces in South Africa. With showers predicted for the evening, the spinner may face another tough test.
On the other hand, India will also be well-served if the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Hardik Pandya and MS Dhoni get going in Port Elizabeth as the struggling middle-order has been a cause of concern for the visitors in the ongoing series.
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Notably, India managed only 83 runs in the last 87 balls in the 4th ODI and thus Kohli will be hoping for a better show from his teammates later today.
When does the match start and how to watch it live
The fifth ODI between South Africa and India will start at 1 pm local time (4:30 pm IST, 11 am GMT).
Live streaming and TV coverage information below.
- India: TV: Sony Ten 1 and Sony Ten 3; Live streaming: Sony LIV
- South Africa: TV: SuperSport 2; Live streaming: SuperSport live
- UK: TV: Sky Sports Cricket; Live streaming: Sky Go
- US: Willow TV
Squads
South Africa: Aiden Markram (c), Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Jean-Paul Duminy, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Lungisani Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Khaya Zondo, Farhaan Behardien, Heinrich Klaasen (wk).
India: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik (wk), MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur.
