Cricket is a religion in India, a unifying force even in the most strenuous situations. The country is currently reeling under a widespread air travel disruption. But even fans dealing with last-minute cancellations and delays found momentary solace in predicting which way the pendulum will swing when India faces South Africa here on Saturday (December 6, 2025) .
And understandably so. After 1,401 runs, including four centuries, and 29 wickets, there’s little to separate the two teams heading into the series decider at the ACA-VDCA Stadium.
The Proteas come into the clash with wind beneath their sails, having almost effortlessly completed the joint-highest successful chase by any team against India. They ran the host close in the first ODI and then stunned a packed house in Raipur, chasing down the 359-run target with four balls to spare.
The focus, unsurprisingly, will once again be on the toss, with dew capable of wreaking havoc, as seen in the previous clash. India’s dismal record with the coin — having not won one since the 2023 ODI World Cup semifinal (20 matches) — doesn’t help.
That said, this venue has been kind to both the Men in Blue and Virat Kohli. While the team has a 7-2 win-loss record in the 50-over format, the veteran has an extraordinary average of 97.83 (587 runs) in seven ODIs, including three centuries.
Kohli has been in sublime form this week, which, as has been the case throughout his career, led to the sluggish ticket sales getting reversed in the second and third phases.
India will also look to Rohit Sharma, the other senior pro, to lead from the front. Rohit and Kohli, in the final phase of their career, have defied the stereotypes about ageing players, with their bodies still as willing as their minds.
They could, however, do well with some support from the rest of the pack, with only K.L. Rahul and Ruturaj Gaikwad making meaningful contributions with the willow so far. All eyes will be on Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has failed to make the most of good starts and playing with an obvious chink in his armour: left-arm pacers, who have dismissed him 16 times to date (nine in Tests, twice in ODIs and five in T20Is) at the international level.
India’s fortunes will also depend heavily on how its bowlers, led by the inexperienced trio of Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, and Harshit Rana, perform. Humidity will also come into play, even if the coastal city has experienced slightly cooler evenings in the days leading to the match.
While India has a full squad to call on, South Africa is awaiting Nandre Burger and Tony de Zorzi’s scan results after the pair picked up hamstring injuries in Raipur.
Kohli has scored three centuries back-to-back in ODIs only once in his career, with one of them coming at this venue in 2018. Will he feast on this turf again? Will India concede both the Test and ODI series in a bilateral at home for the first time since 1986-87 when it lost to Pakistan?
The teams (from): India: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, K.L. Rahul (Capt. & wk), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant, Tilak Varma, Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Reddy.
South Africa: Aiden Markram, Quinton de Kock (wk), Temba Bavuma (Capt.), Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, Tony de Zorzi, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, Nandre Burger, Lungi Ngidi, Ryan Rickelton, Ottneil Baartman, Rubin Hermann, Prenelan Subrayen.
The match starts at 1.30 p.m.
Published – December 05, 2025 08:00 pm IST
