Ten Doeschate explains India's battle with the dew

India have been fighting the elements all the way through this three-match ODI series against South Africa, which sits at 1-1 ahead of the final game in Visakhapatnam on Saturday. Their bad luck with tosses has left them batting when conditions are better for bowling and bowling when conditions are better for batting.

"The dew factor is, we're actually trying to put a number on it and it varies between 10 and 20% [in terms of] what a big difference it makes [to the result]," India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said. "I think we're one in a million statistically at the moment [the probability of losing 20 straight tosses], so if we can go two million tomorrow, that'll be pretty impressive.

"But again, it's a bit of a joke, but the responsibility or the preparation is to beat whatever is put in front of us and eventually we're going to win a toss anyway."

Ten Doeschate highlighted all that the team is doing behind the scenes to cope with the dew. "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."

An unexpected complication is the way ODIs function now. Previously, there was a new ball at each end. But it seemed like that had skewed the balance of the game in favour of the batters, with the ball staying harder for longer and being easier to hit even late in the innings. The ICC took note of this and from this July, bowling teams have been choosing one out of those two balls to carry on for the last 16 overs.

"The two balls," ten Doeschate said, "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 [when there is dew] 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."

India's batters are also trying to do their bit by reassessing the totals they're aiming for.

"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."

Ten Doeschate was asked if an earlier start time might help even things out. "I think it is, you know, the fact that the dew kind of falls as the second inning starts, it means the dew is there for the whole time.

"So a different start time could bring that effect down a little bit if you started two hours early. That is a solution but obviously there are so many moving parts at play in terms of broadcasting etc. So I guess it is a futile conversation."

Over the course of this tour by South Africa, India have gone to their allrounders when they play Test matches and specialists when they've been playing the ODIs.

"I guess that is a bit of an anomaly," ten Doeschate said. "You know, you would think Test Cricket, you would have more specialists but it is just where we are at the moment in the cycle and the guys we think at the moment are the best guys to represent the team. Ideally, in Test cricket, you have a more solid base of batters and bowlers but we feel at the moment the guys who are doing the job for us just happen to be allrounders. I just think it is picking your best XI and that is just the way it is all in the world."

The ODIs being 1-1 right after India lost the Tests 2-0 has left the dressing room a bit wired.

"It is a very different personnel of players, but the guys are very aware of the responsibility of what they are representing," ten Doeschate said. "We always want to win, but certainly when a few losses do start stacking up and performances are below what we expect from ourselves. I think there is a slight aspiration to win the series tomorrow."