Ruthless India aim for 5-1 finish against South Africa

Centurion: Following a historic series victory on South African soil, India will aim to continue their dominance to finish with a 5-1 record against the Proteas in the sixth One-Day International (ODI) at the SuperSport Park, Centurion on Friday.

The visitors who have already pocketed the series 4-1 will be in a search to finish off the series on a positive note. India, courtesy of their triumphant run, also clinched the top spot in ODI rankings for the third time in six months.

For India, this has been a series of positives. Virat Kohli continues to turn anything he touches into runs. With 429 in the series so far at an average of 143. Opener Shikhar Dhawan also scores in every game with a century and couple of fifties.

In fifth ODI, Rohit Sharma also regain some form, but other batsmen mostly struggling for form. They fells to carry excellent start in every match.

The spin-duo --Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal has perhaps been the most impressive, important development for India this series with 16 and 14 wickets respectively.

In the pace department, Bhuvneswar Kumar seems to be struggling for form. Jasprit Bumrah, his partner, has claimed six wickets so far in the series – the most by any paceman from either side, along with Lungi Ngidi.

For South Africa, there is not much to do but move on. They were outplayed by India for large parts in this series, but they weren't helped by the injury list.

Quinton de Kock and Faf du Plessis remain sidelined, while AB de Villiers missed the first three ODIs. They will hope to finish the series with a victory, which will come as a timely boost ahead of the three-match Twenty20 International series.

Teams from

South Africa: Aiden Markram (capt), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Khaya Zondo

India: Virat Kohli (capt), Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shikhar Dhawan, MS Dhoni (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Shardul Thakur

Pitch and conditions
It's expected to be cloudy in Gauteng on Friday with scattered thunderstorms around that could affect the match. The pitch aided turn that day.

Stats and trivia

• The second ODI of the series was played at this venue, when South Africa were bundled out for 118 – their lowest ODI total at home.
• Only Australia team won five match in a series in South Africa -- Australia (5-1 in 2001-02). India have a chance of emulating that.
• 3 wickets needed by Kuldeep Yadav (16) to become the highest wicket-taker in a bilateral series in ODI history.
• 33 runs needed by MS Dhoni to become the 4th Indian and 12th overall to the 10,000-run mark.
• 72 runs needed by Ajinkya Rahane to become the 20th Indian and 148th overall to the 3,000-run mark.
• 51 runs needed by AB de Villiers (1,327) to go past Gary Kirsten and become the 3rd-highest run-getter in India-South Africa ODIs. The top two spots are held by Sachin Tendulkar (2,001) and Jacques Kallis (1,535).

Match facts
Friday February 16, 2018
Start time: 13:00 local (11:00 GMT)