Indian fortress under siege

INDIA have never lost in Indore. Granted, they haven’t played here in a while, but their three matches at the Holkar Cricket Stadium have ended in comfortable victories.

Seven wickets, 54 runs, and then 153 runs. Those were India's victory margins in their three games here. Oh, and they scored 418 the last time in 2011. Added to that proud record, the ground is known for producing some belting good wickets for batters.

Virender Sehwag smashed 219 against the West Indies in the last match here four years ago. The locals are predicting that India’s latest opening superstar, Rohit Sharma, will do the same.

“I think there is a very good chance that one of the top three in our team will make a big score in this match,” Sharma predicted.

The problem for India is not Sharma making runs, however. The Indians are desperate for Virat Kohli to find some form, and even for the likes of MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina to step up. It is uncanny, but all the pressure is on the home side, despite being at a ground that they have never tasted defeat.

“India has a very good record here, but we want to put it to the test,” was the general mood of the South Africans.

To complicate things further for the home side, they will most likely be without Ravi Ashwin for the rest of the ODI series – a blow that they may not recover from. In his absence, South Africa went into free-scoring mode, and they will look to do so again tonight on a great batting wicket, with short, straight boundaries and a blistering outfield.

“The outfield has a bit of a Centurion feel about it,” quipped Farhaan Behardien. As he well knows, Centurion is a field where batsmen generally fill their boots. Expect runs tonight. Plenty of them …