South Africa grapple with team balance

South Africa will be forced to confront their ongoing allrounder issue in the remaining ODIs against India, which they will have to play without JP Duminy. The left-handed batsman, who also offers an offspin option, was ruled out of the rest of the series with a hand injury and his replacement, Dean Elgar, only arrives at 2am on Wednesday morning. This means South Africa's strategy of seven specialist batsmen, three seamers and a spinner could change in Chennai.

"Under these conditions, JP fits the allrounder role well because he is able to bowl a good number of overs," South Africa coach Russell Domingo explained. "We have been grappling with that allrounder spot and under these conditions he is the perfect guy for us, so that's a big loss for us."

Elgar could do a similar job, as a batsman who can bowl a bit, but may not be in a position to play the fourth match given the time of his touchdown in India. He will train with the squad but Domingo said he would have to consult the selectors about the team composition.

It is likely that South Africa would turn to Chris Morris, the only seam-bowling allrounder in the squad to slot in at No.7. Morris has not played an ODI in this series but played in both T20s and was one of South Africa's successful bowlers in the second T20 in Cuttack. South Africa have steered away from using him in the 50-over format in a bid to lengthen their line-up, and have relied upon Duminy and Farhaan Behardien to make up the fifth bowler.

Behardien's responsibility will now be considerably higher even if Elgar, who once called himself a "pie-chucker," plays because Elgar will likely bowl less than Duminy did. South Africa may also consider shortening their batting line-up, bringing left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso into the XI if they are convinced with their batsmen's form.

So far, Quinton de Kock and AB de Villiers have scored centuries, while Faf du Plessis has contributed a half-century in every game but Hashim Amla and David Miller have not quite come off. Domingo explained that sustaining form has proven difficult in the conditions. "Both the heat and the wickets makes big run-scoring a little bit harder than in other conditions," he said. "It's important when someone gets a start that they can kick on."

Despite the challenges of adapting to conditions, South Africa have not lagged behind on the tour so far. They led the T20 series, which they won 2-0, from the get-go and have regained the lead in the ODI series after India drew level in the second match. They couldn't have asked for much more. "If someone said to us we'd be 2-1 up with two games to play and had already won the T20, we would have jumped at it," Domingo said. "But we know India are a world-class side. They could rock up tomorrow and give us a hiding."