South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis accepted the fact that Indian team will not be that easy to beat in the six-match ODI series. He also feels that visitors’ poor record in the rainbow nation will not be much of a factor. India has only won 5 out of 27 ODIs they have played against South Africa in South Africa.

Talking about India’s poor record, Du Plessis said, “It means that there is something difficult for touring teams to come here and get accustomed to. But as I mentioned before the Test series, I feel like this Indian cricket team has got the names on paper to challenge that and get some victories in South Africa. They have proved that in the Test series and they are a quality team. So I expect the same (challenge and intensity) in the ODIs coming up.”

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Despite the fact that the hosts have won the Test series by 2-1, Indian bowlers came hard on their batsmen as they went on to take all 60 wickets on offer. Du Plessis felt that this would be a factor in the ODI series as well, he said, “They are very good spinners. They have been very successful for India in the last while. ODI wickets here generally don’t spin a hell lot so it depends on how the wickets play. But they have got more control. They’ll be two important bowlers for the Indian team.”

When asked about the performance of the Indian pacers in the recently concluded Test series, the Proteas skipper said he was surprised with the same. He elaborated, “The conditions in the Test series were bowling friendly, but I was surprised how consistent the Indian seamers were. They were very, very consistent and it showed us there is a lot of strength in their bowling department. Jasprit Bumrah was a surprise selection because India had more experienced bowlers in the squad, but he was very impressive. He didn’t bowl a lot of bad balls, which shows that he is someone for the future.”

Discussing South Africa’s gameplan in this ODI series, Faf further said, “The good thing is, that from a batting point of view, we were able to still make a few inroads. I think our mindset has changed. We have always been focussed on the now. This is the first time when we have really taken a small step into the now and bigger step into the future where we are trying to see. Personally I haven’t been involved in a vision like that. So obviously it shows you that there’s a big focus on how we could give guys a lot of opportunity.”

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He further added,  “I’ve always been of the belief that you play every game as hard as you can. You do everything to win a game of cricket. But I do feel like we’re a little bit more focussed on 2019 now. If you say that, you have to give yourself a little bit of allowance.”

Du Plessis also emphasized on the fact that Aiden Markram and JP Duminy’s role with the bowl could prove to be crucial. He said, “AB is not playing this game so Aiden Markaram is coming into his place. We won’t play two frontline spinners together, not with the balance of our team. So it is important then that your all-rounders in Duminy and Markram, those guys are prepared to bowl as a sixth bowling option. Obviously Imran (Tahir) is a quality bowler.”