SA vs IND: ODI Series – 5 South Africans to watch out for
After the T20I series finished in stalemate, South Africa and India will lock horns in a three-match ODI series, with the first game scheduled for Sunday, December 17, in Johannesburg. It was announced earlier that Temba Bavuma and Kagiso Rabada would not feature in the white-ball leg of the tour. However, there are quite a few players who could make a difference for the Proteas side. In this article, we take a look at five South African players to watch out for in the ODIs.
5. Tabraiz Shamsi –
The left-arm wrist spinner has the ability to pick wickets in the middle overs, which is very crucial in the 50-over format. He had contrasting outings in the two T20Is. In the second game, in Gqeberha, he was excellent, conceding just 18 runs in his four overs and dismissed the dangerous Suryakumar Yadav. Shamsi didn’t fare well in the last encounter as he finished with figures of 1/38 in four overs. In the 2023 ODI World Cup, Shamsi played four games and picked up nine wickets at an average of 23.55.
4. Heinrich Klaasen –
The explosive wicketkeeper-batter missed out in the T20Is as he scored just 12 runs across the two games. However, he has been in spectacular form this year and one bad outing won’t bother him too much. Klaasen has a phenomenal ODI record, having scored 1,696 runs in 48 innings, at an average of 41.37 and a strike rate of 115.77. In the World Cup, Klaasen scored 373 runs in 10 innings at an average of 41.44 and a strike rate of 133.21.
3. Keshav Maharaj –
The left-arm spinner finished with figures of 2/26 in his four overs in the last T20I encounter against India at the same venue. Maharaj is a clever bowler who can bamboozle batters with his subtle variations in speeds and lines. He picked up 15 wickets in 10 games during the World Cup, at an average of 24.66 and a strike rate of 35.60. It will be interesting to see how Aiden Markam uses him in the series.
2. Aiden Markram –
The Proteas skipper played a couple of entertaining cameos during the T20I series. He has improved his ODI game substantially in recent months and all three of his hundreds in the format have come in 2023. During the World Cup, Markram scored a breathtaking century off just 49 balls against Sri Lanka. If Markram gets his eye in, he could cause some serious damage to the Indian bowlers.
1. Rassie van der Dussen –
The right-handed batter finished as the second-highest run-getter for South Africa in the ODI World Cup 2023 after Quinton de Kock. In 10 games, he accumulated 448 runs at an average of 49.77 and a strike rate of 84.52. Van der Dussen has a staggering ODI average of 55.29 and is one of the better players in the format. He will have an important role to play at the top of the order.
