Tags: South Africa players

AS SPRIGHTLY AS EVER: South Africa's Hashim Amla watches the athletic Herschelle Gibbs at a practice session at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium on Saturday.

Jaipur: The opening One-Day International of the three-match series will be played here under unprecedented security following terror threats to the venue.

A four-layer security apparatus, swipe cards for accreditation passes, commandos with sten guns at vantage points, a heavy police presence and plain-clothed security personnel are some of the measures put in place. They also reflect the times that we live in.

India and South Africa will face off at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium here on Sunday.

The one-dayers follow a captivating, even if all too brief, Test series that concluded that amid scenes of high drama at Eden Gardens, that timeless field of dreams.

The cricket caravan has subsequently moved to the city of palaces and lakes. History stares at you from every corner in Jaipur.

Indeed, the immortal Jaipur fort stands sentinel over the Sawai Man Singh Stadium. It's a spirit-lifting and inspirational setting.

Both teams will need some inspiration after being dented by injuries in the Test series. South Africa will be without its courageous skipper Graeme Smith. Given his wealth of experience, one can expect Jacques Kallis to do a competent job as captain.

With World Cup 2011 approaching, the countdown for the big event has begun. For the South Africans, in particular, the series represents a valuable opportunity to get familiar with the conditions vis-a-vis one-day cricket. The good news for South Africa is the return to fitness of its formidable wicketkeeper-batsman Mark Boucher. Kallis was emphatic that Boucher would don the big gloves on Sunday.

Dew factor

The ground-staff predict a high-scoring duel. Both teams are wary, though, about the dew factor. In the last ODI here — against Pakistan in 2007 — India had gone down in a high-scoring humdinger. Without Zaheer Khan, Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh (all injured) and the irrepressible Harbhajan Singh (opting out of the first two matches to attend his sister's wedding), India could be stretched again.

The onus would be on the buccaneering Virender Sehwag and maestro Sachin Tendulkar — both are in magnificent form — to lay a foundation and then build on that.

Virat Kohli, quick of mind and with fast bat-speed, the left-handed natural strokemaker Suresh Raina and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni are capable of inflicting damage on the attack. The spirited Dinesh Karthik has pulled his weight in this format and the big-hitting Yusuf Pathan's heroics in domestic cricket could win him a place in the eleven.

Bowling might be a greater area of concern. Zaheer, by a distance, is India's finest contemporary paceman. Off-spinner Harbhajan was bowling with greater control in the climactic stages of the Test series and he will be missed. This said, pacemen Ashish Nehra, S. Sreesanth and Praveen Kumar — all essentially swing bowlers — could jolt the South African line-up. And the lanky R. Ashwin, a steady off-spinner who bowls stump to stump and can surprise the batsmen with extra bounce from a high-arm action, could contain and strike in this format. Amit Mishra, an improving leg-spinner, has bowled with skill and discipline in the shorter forms of the game as well.

Main concern

But then, bowling at the death will be India's main concern. The attack has bled runs — the home series against Australia was an example — during this crucial last phase of the innings how Dhoni shuffles his bowlers will make interesting viewing.

South Africa could miss Smith the captain but it is unlikely to miss him as a batsman with the calm, smooth-stroking and skilful Hashim Amla replacing the left-hander in the squad. Amla, indeed, was effervescent in the Test series.

The visitor will have to think about the opening combination though. Loots Bosman, an exciting shotmaker, could receive a look-in at the top of the order. Kallis could be tempted to open or will it be the fluent A.B. de Villiers or the aggressive Herschelle Gibbs?

Dale Steyn will spearhead the pace attack and he can be a handful on any surface. If Charl Langeveldt, a swing bowler, gets a look in, he could pose searching questions to the Indian batsmen.

The South African spin bowling will revolve around Roelof van der Merwe. And the visitor has an edge in fielding.

An interesting game is on the cards.

The teams: India (from): M.S. Dhoni (capt.), S. Tendulkar, V. Sehwag, S. Raina, V. Kohli, D. Karthik, Y. Pathan, R. Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, S. Sreesanth, A. Nehra, A. Mishra, R. Jadeja, S. Tyagi, A. Nayar.

South Africa: Jacques Kallis (capt.), H. Gibbs, L. Bosman, H. Amla, A.B. de Villiers, J. Duminy, A. Morkel, M. Boucher, R. van der Merwe, M. Morkel, W. Parnell, J. Botha, C. Langerveldt, A. Petersen, L. Tsotsobe

Match starts at 2.30 p.m.

Source: The Hindu.