De Kock ruled out of ODI and T20 series

CAPE TOWN: South African wicket-keeper-batsman Quinton de Kock has joined AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis in the list of cricketers being sidelined from the oneday series because of injury. De Kock has been ruled out from cricket for two to four weeks due to an injury to his left wrist, which means he will take no further part in the remaining matches, including the T20Is.
While his exit further diminishes the value of this ongoing series, considering the way India have been dominating the contest between the two sides, it does give Cricket South Africa (CSA) and the selectors to use the remaining matches to rotate players so as to compensate for their mandatory player quota system.
Lunch, anyone?
When’s a good time to lunch? Anytime except when a team’s two runs away from winning a game of cricket, the crowd inside the stadium is all but ready to leave and viewers across the world are waiting to switch their televisions off.
It began to appear like umpires Adrian Holdstock and Aleem Dar, along with match-referee Andy Pycroft, had missed breakfast on Sunday morning when they stepped out on to the SuperSport Park in Centurion for the second One-Day International between India and South Africa.
With India just two runs away from what was going to be a one-sided win, the men who have the authority to take all decisions concerning the game decided that a 40-minute break was more important than allowing another few minutes of play that would have ensured a result.
The decision has been much ridiculed for the waste of time and for irrationally sticking to rulebooks in a scenario where “common sense” could’ve prevailed.
Flat track coming up?
With no headway in sight to counter India’s wrist spin, South Africa could well settle for a flat track at the Newlands in Cape Town with two strategies in mind. First, to out-bat India in the game on an out-and-out batting track and second, to use swing when looking for wickets and now allowing the pitch to be as slow as the one laid out in Centurion.
No change in Indian XI
Riding high on two massive victories in Durban and Centurion, India is likely to head into the third one-dayer with an unchanged eleven, looking to go further up in the series. South Africa, meanwhile, will have to look at replacements for de Kock, not just to keep wickets but also to open.