Preview, 3rd ODI: India vs South Africa at Cape Town

Virat Kohli ()

Cape Town, Feb 7 - Buoyed by the convincing wins in the opening two ODIs, India will fancy their chances to take an unprecedented 3-0 lead when they take on a depleted South African team, plagued by injuries, in the third One-day International of the six-match series at Newlands here on Wednesday.

The Virat Kohli-led tourists outclassed the hosts in the first couple of games in Durban and Centurion by six and nine wickets, respectively. Previously, India have managed to win two ODIs in a bilateral series in South Africa -- in 1992-93 and in 2010-11, only to lose 2-5 and 2-3, respectively.

But given the circumstances in the ongoing series, with the hosts losing their top three players -- skipper Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers and Quinton de Kock -- to various injuries, the men-in-blue have a bright chance to better their record on South African soil.

Going into the third game, India is unlikely to tinker with the winning combination, which has excelled in all the departments.

Barring opener Rohit Sharma, the top order batting comprising Shikhar Dhawan, Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane have been in impressive form while in the bowling department, the wrist spin twins -- leggie Yuzvendra Chahal and chinaman Kuldeep Yadav -- have literally been the reason behind India's two victories so far, sharing 13 wickets between them.

Read More