As India brace for the do-or-die third ODI against South Africa in Visakhapatnam on Saturday, the narrative of the series so far has been shaped by the conditions dictating it. Locked at 1-1, the series has seen India fight not just a well-drilled South African side, but also the quirks of the environment, most notably, the toss and the ever-troublesome dew factor.
Across both matches, India’s bad luck at the toss has forced them into the situations largely favouring the opposition. Ahead of the third ODI, Indian assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate shed light on the behind-the-scenes effort required to keep the squad prepared. According to him, dealing with the dew has become a crucial part of India’s planning.
"We are doing all the practical prep stuff, guys bowling with wet balls. Again, you know, like setting up our store to get a premium score, figuring out how to defend, what is best to bowl with the wet ball when there is dew on the grass," he said at the press conference.
"The two balls. If I just think about it logically, the whole point of going to one ball after 34 overs is that the ball does get a chance to wear and to get a bit softer. But the flip side is that you have got one ball that is getting more wet essentially. I think the umpires have been very good in allowing ball changes, but then of course you end up getting a slightly harder ball which negates the whole point of going down to the one ball.
"But like I said, the thing that has impressed me about this group this week is that we know the challenges. I haven't heard anyone complain, and the main thing is all about, you know, it is our responsibility to find ways around these challenges and that is just another one we have got to find a solution for."
In the past two games, India have been able to put out big totals, but Ryan ten Doeschate stated that the side has been reassessing the totals.
"At the start of the first game, we thought 320 sort of par, and then we put a premium at 350 and we thought that the game in Raipur was the same. We thought 360, even given the dew coming, it was a good effort to get that score," ten Doeschate said. "You always want more runs and again the conversations have been around how can we maximise. What we said about guys starting in slightly later on, what are the better options, we just had a good chat around that," he said.