Team India goes to the Boland Park Cricket Stadium in Paarl to take on South Africa in the third ODI of the series on 21 December. While the home team will want to end the series on a high note, India will try to make sure that they give their best and not get carried away by the success they have had earlier in the series.
South Africa will have a point to prove to their supporters, and it will be challenging for them to beat India, who are known to be very strong in this game format. India will play their natural game, usually going after the bowlers from ball one.
India's bowlers have a crucial role in this game, given that South Africa have an array of top-quality batters in their ranks. India's batting unit has also been in good shape despite the absence of some senior players, including Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
South Africa will feel that the familiar conditions will allow them to express themselves well. However, their opponents, India, the ICC Cricket World Cup finalists, will fancy themselves. Skipper KL Rahul has a point to prove to his detractors, as do Suryakumar Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal.
If India win this game, it will give them confidence ahead of the Test series about to come after the one-dayers. It is an unspoken cricket custom that the Tests take precedence over other game formats. The Proteas will try their best to prevent that from happening.
Probable Playing XIs
India: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sai Sudharsan, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (c) (wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh.
South Africa: Tony de Zorzi, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Aiden Markram (c), Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lizaad Williams, Nandre Burger.
Key Players
Sai Sudharsan: Young Sai Sudharsan, who made his ODI debut in the first match of the series, will be one of the key players for India in this game. The opener from Tamil Nadu knows how to pace his innings well and can strike the ball a long way. Being a southpaw works in his favour as well.
Tabraiz Shamsi: Being a wrist spinner is never easy, but Tabraiz Shamsi continues to showcase why he is so highly rated. One of the biggest draws for seeing him play is how he celebrates - by bringing his shoe out of his foot and mimicking a telephone call. Shamsi can change games with the variety that he brings to the table.
Match Prediction
India are the favourites to win this game. Despite South Africa having the advantage of playing at home, the visitors will want to prove how well they can perform even away from home. India's bowlers have been inspirational throughout the series, which gives them a considerable advantage over their opponents. South Africa will find it quite challenging to take the Indians on.