IND vs SA: It will be a closely contested ODI series, feels JP Duminy

JP DuminyFresh from their victory at Johannesburg South African batsman JP Duminy expects India to provide close contest during the sixmatch ODI series and improve their modest record here The first ODI will be played at the Kingsmead Oval on Thursday India are a phenomenal ODI side and theyve managed to compete in all conditions around the world You dont expect anything less from them They have a few new faces and few young players but also a lot of talent Duminy told reporters here todayThey have been exposed to the IPL scene and they will be competitive in the series Even though we won the first two Test matches India competed and thats what you want to see from high profile teams India being the worlds No 1 ranked team you expect nothing less from them Batsmen from both sides struggled during the Test series on bowlerfriendly pitches Duminy said that the ODI pitches will be more batsmen friendly but added that the Indias toporder batsmen will have to improve their poor showing from 2013The pitches are going to be more batsmen friendly I think Its probably going to be highscoring games across the country And thatll obviously bring the teams closer together The key fundamentals for me in Oneday cricket are partnerships with ball and bat The team that gets that right has the best chance of winning said Duminy South Africa will also be keeping a close eye on their preparation for the 2019 World Cup as this ODI series begins Duminy said that a lot of changes have happened in how teams now approach their middle oversIt depends on the make up of your team If you look back to a team like England who bats quite deep they probably bat until 10 or 11 at times I guess they can afford to lose a couple of wickets in the middle in trying to be a little aggressive And thats worked for them over a period of time For our team its about understanding whats the make up and how do we best get to a 300past score These days even 300 is not good enough Even with 350 youre still not guaranteed a win So its about understanding whats the makeup what each players role is and understanding how to go about that role he saidTheres going to be a lot of shifting I would think leading up to the World Cup so guys will want to understand their role understand their game and understand what brand of cricket we want to play going into 2019 Its going to be an intriguing phase not only for our team but for all teams Last but not the least Duminy said he was looking forward to reuniting with Mumbai Indians at the 2018 IPL Obviously I have been part of the IPL for a number of years so playing against the Indian team you do end up playing against a lot of your potential teammates in the IPLBut right now you know youre going to be competitive you want to win and you want to put big performances against the opposition I dont think we will see anything different said Duminy But yes in a few months time well be teammates with Rohit Sharma at Mumbai Indians and at that time obviously itll be about putting the past in the past and concentrate on winning the IPL Im really happy to be back with the Mumbai Indians It all started for me at Mumbai he signed offCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates hereDownload the new midday Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go