India and South Africa are set for a pulsating finale as they both gear up for the third and final ODI, scheduled to be played on Saturday at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA–VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. With the series locked at 1-1 after two high-scoring showdowns, both sides will be hoping for decisive performances to clinch the series. India claimed an emphatic win in the opening ODI, and South Africa hit back in style to level the series.

They now carry significant momentum into the decider. Their fearless approach helped them overhaul a 359-run target in the second game to clinch a commanding win. Aiden Markram led from the front, cracking a century to lay the foundation for a dominant win. Dewald Brevis and Matthew Breetzke have also been instrumental with the bat, delivering consistent performances in the middle order. 

For India, their batting has been their strength so far in this series. At the heart of their dominance is Virat Kohli, who has been in destructive form with back-to-back centuries. His knocks at the top of the order have enabled India to set big totals in the past two games. Ruturaj Gaikwad’s maiden ODI century in the second match has been another massive boost for the hosts. Meanwhile, KL Rahul has provided explosive finishes in the middle order, adding valuable runs in death overs. 

Meanwhile, South Africa face a fresh set of challenges heading into the final showdown. Nandre Burger and Tony de Zorzi, both key contributors earlier in the series, appeared to suffer hamstring injuries in the previous game. Their availability for the decider remains uncertain. 

Head-to-head

Matches - 96

IND won - 41

SA won - 52

No result - 3

India possible XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Washington Sundar, KL Rahul (c&wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh

South Africa possible XI: Ryan Rickelton, Quinton de Kock (wk), Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma (c), Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, Nandre Burger, Lungi Ngidi