India vs South Africa | AB de Villiers will help the side in handling Indian spinners, hopes Chris Morris

India vs South Africa | AB de Villiers will help the side in handling Indian spinners, hopes Chris Morris

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Chris Morris has opined that AB de Villiers' return in the series against India will help the South African side as he can advise the players on how to handle the spin attack. He has also revealed that the hosts have spent time looking at videos of the spinners to counter them better.

Ahead of the start of the series, the South African team faced a setback when they got to know that they would be without the services of the experienced de Villiers who was ruled out from the first three games due to a finger injury. Later, South African skipper Faf du Plessis and wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock also joined him on the injured players' list which dented the strength of the team which led to the hosts trailing the ongoing six-match ODI series 3-0. But ahead of the fourth game at Wanderers, the home team got some hope in the form of de Villiers, who has played 225 ODI games for his country scoring 9515 at an average of 54.06, as he recovered from his injury and ready to play the do-or-die game for his side. Morris hoped his presence will boost players’ morale while facing the Indian bowling attack especially spinners.

"AB has always got inputs - it doesn't matter if it's spin, seam, behind the back," Morris said, as quoted by Cricbuzz. 

"It doesn't matter what inputs he's got, it's always good. I'm sure AB will have a few pointers for the guys on how to handle spin and how to play spin, maybe a few different attacking options. He's got advice for everything and it's always solid. When AB talks, you listen because it's always helpful."

After winning the three-match Test series, it was players’ injury and wrist-spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, who pushed South Africa onto the back foot. The terror of both Indian spinners can be understood after watching their bowling stats as the Proteas lost 21 of their 28 wickets to Kuldeep and Chahal in the first three ODIs. Morris admitted that the team didn’t have enough time to make technical adjustments against the duo but added that they had watched as many videos as they could so that they can pick the spinners in the remainder of the series.

"The guys have done a lot more homework in the last day. We had a chat about it in Cape Town and we've just got to take it on the chin. We haven't been playing them well, we've been a bit tentative towards them. But we don't need to change anything. We don't need to hit more balls. The only way we can combat that is doing a bit more homework and focusing on what's going on ahead of us."

The 30-year-old scored 37, 14, and 14 in the first three ODIs which played in Durban, Centurion, and Cape Town and two times he gifted his wicket to Kuldeep and in the second game Chahal got his scalp.

"Obviously in Durban, I had to consolidate and eat up a bit of pressure and bat some time. Centurion, we don't really need to talk about, I had to play my game. The situation plays a role in that. If we are 100 for no loss after 11 overs when the spinners come on, I tell you what we're not going to sit back. It's simple as that, you are going to play your game because we are on the front foot. Every time the spinners have come on, we've been on the back foot, unfortunately. So that's all situation based. If we decide to go, we go. If we don't, we soak up a bit of pressure and see them out, then that's obviously what the game plan is in that moment and on the day," Morris added.

Apart from the wrist-spin duo of Kuldeep and Chahal, Virat Kohli has been leading the side brilliantly, averaging an incredible 318 with the bat. After scoring the 33rd century of his ODI career, the Indian skipper played an unbeaten knock of 46-run in the second ODI. He continued his terrific form in Cape Town as well where he added 160 runs in India’s total of 303. If the South African team wanted to keep their hope alive in the 50-overs series then they will have to devise a plan for Kohli as soon as possible.

"We know he's the main guy in the team, and if we can get him out we can put India under pressure. In saying that, we were millimetres away in Cape Town, we were millimetres away in Durban. No edge there (in Cape Town) and it's a different game, Faf takes a blinder (in Durban) and it's a different game. It's a game of centimetres and millimetres at the moment. But he's in serious form and we're just going to have to do as well as we can to combat that," he said.

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