South Africa v/s India, 1st ODI: Skipper Faf du Plessis up for a fight in six-match series

South Africa captain Faf du Plessis on Wednesday acknowledged that it will be tough to beat India in the six-match ODI series starting on Thursday and said the visitors’ poor record here in the 50-over format will not be much of a factor.

India have only won 5 out of 27 ODIs they have played against South Africa in South Africa, have never won a bilateral series here or indeed beaten South Africa at Durban in ODI cricket.

“I think it (the poor record) tells a story. It means that there is something difficult for touring teams to come here and get accustomed to. But as I mentioned before the Test series, I feel like this Indian cricket team has got the names on paper to challenge that and get some victories in South Africa. They have proved that in the Test series and they are a quality team. So I expect the same (challenge and intensity) in the ODIs coming up,” said du Plessis on Wednesday.

South Africa won the Test series 2-1, but the Indian bowlers gave a good account of themselves picking all 60 wickets on offer. Du Plessis felt that this would be a factor in the ODI series …read more