CHENNAI: July 19, 2015. October 25, 2015. Two random dates that in isolation make no sense. But for nerds who follow Indian cricket, they might stand out. Those were the last two times the team lost meaningful final rubbers while playing in coloured clothing in a bilateral series with more than one match.
In the former, Zimbabwe beat the visitors to level their two-match T20I series. In the latter, South Africa, courtesy three centurions, beat the hosts to win their ODI series 3-2.
Since then, India have been utterly dominant when it comes to clutch situations. Think Shikhar Dhawan against Sri Lanka, Jasprit Bumrah against New Zealand, or Amit Mishra versus the same opposition.
The Men In Blue have turned into flamethrowers when they have thrown into the deep end. They have played eight deciders across two formats, winning them all, right since their loss to AB de Villiers’ men.
Virat Kohli – who is yet to taste defeat in a decider as skipper – and his band will have to reside in that same zone on Saturday, in the third T20I at Cape Town.
The visitors have had the hosts’ number since the beginning of the third Test, but there is some proof at the moment to suggest that their stranglehold might be weakening.They seem to have solved the Rubik’s Cube that was Yuzvendra Chahal. The leg-spinner accounted for 16 wickets at an average of 16.50 in the six ODIs. In the two T20Is, he has taken one wicket at an average of 103.
If the handling of Chahal has provided JP Duminy’s men timely relief, the boundary-smashing bravery of Reeza Hendricks (13 fours, 1 six) and Heinrich Klassen (4 fours, 8 sixes) made the last few games more of an even contest. In the ODIs, their batsmen insisted on using plastic forks when the opposition was armed with industrial-grade guns. That has somewhat changed.
It’s one of the reasons why Farhaan Behardien insisted that his side was upbeat.“Tomorrow is a massive opportunity for us to turn this series around,” he said in the pre-match press conference. “To win two out of the three series (in 2015) against a strong Indian unit is a big plus. We beat them 3-2 in the ODIs, 2-0 in the T20Is, but we lost the Test (series).
“It’s basically a reversal, but we have the opportunity to go one up tomorrow, Everybody is upbeat.” A few voices from the South African camp are calling this a ‘final’.It’s the exact same reason why India and Kohli will be up for a decider that is clearly more than just a match.
Win it, and India will have comprehensively beaten one of the world’s most-complete sides in two out of three formats. Sure, they have not been at full strength, but they can only play what’s in front of them.
A few sceptics had predicted a “South Africa 12 India 0” future after seeing the first two Tests. It’s now “South Africa 4 India 7”, with another series up for grabs for the Men in Blue.
In the context of the final 40 overs of this series, the Proteas have more to lose. India have, in a way, already emerged winners on a tour that was all about revenge and vengeance. That’s why South Africa cannot afford to lose on Saturday. That’s why India have absolutely nothing to lose on Saturday.
swaroop@newindianexpress.com