India, South Africa aim to negate dew threat in quest for series win

It's no surprise that dew has taken centerstage in this series as it often does in this part of the world, especially in a format where it often is the difference between the team that bats first and the team that chases. South Africa almost pulled off a stunning heist in the first ODI despite losing half their side in meek fashion. In the second, they went past the finishing line despite being asked to hunt down 359 by India.

The fact that the home side keep losing the toss hasn't helped their case either. Given that is in nobody's control, the challenge for both teams going into this series decider remains the same. Visakhapatnam played host to five games in the recently-concluded Women's World Cup. On all five occasions, the chasing team ended up winning. Australia chased down 331 in a fixture against the hosts and South Africa recovered from 81/5 to chase 252. That's a clear indication of what to expect late in the evening.

For South Africa, this is an opportunity to pull off a rare double. India do not lose often at home. India definitely do not lose both the Test series and an ODI series at home. The last time it happened was almost 40 years ago so South Africa are certainly on the cusp of something special. One thing they would want in this crucial fixture is put early pressure on India with the ball to see how they respond. Virat Kohli has two centuries, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rohit Sharma have made runs too but it will be interesting to see how India cope if they end up losing early wickets.

@B0$: Saturday, December 6, 2025 at 1:30 PM local time

@B1$: ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam

@B2$: Clear skies for starters. In the last ODI played here, India bowled Australia out for just 117. But the preceding two ODIs - both between India and West Indies were high-scoring.

@B3$@B4$

@B5$

The home side will see no reason to change especially after Gaikwad impressing at No.4 in the last game. Prasidh Krishna has leaked runs but India do not have a backup pacer in their squad. So in all likelihood, India will go in with an unchanged XI for the third straight game.

@B6$: Yashavi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Washington Sundar, KL Rahul (C & WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna

@B7$

The visitors will be forced to make a couple of changes after Tony de Zorzi and Nandre Burger were hampered by hamstring injuries in the last game. While Ottneil Baartman will be expected to return to the XI, South Africa will have to take a call on de Zorzi's replacement. If they do not want to disturb their balance, Rubin Hermann might be given a go.

@B8$: Quinton de Kock (WK), Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma (C), Matthew Breetzke, Rubin Hermann, Dewald Brevis, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Ottneil Baartman

@B9$

India have the most wins in ODI cricket since 2023

Virat Kohli's ODI scores at Vizag - 118, 117, 99, 65, 157*, 0, 31

Five of Jaiswal's six dismissals across these two Tests and two ODIs have come to left-arm quicks.

@B10$

"I'm just getting more experience now batting at four, which I'm starting to feel a little bit more comfortable in the role. So that helps, and I think the more I play at number four and in this role, hopefully the better I'll get." - @B11$ on being moved down to No.4 with the ODI regulars returning for this series