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Amit Mishra has a task in hand in the absence of Ravichandran Ashwin

The burden on Amit Mishra has increased following the ruling out of Ravichandran Ashwin in the ongoing series.

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Amit Mishra © Getty Images
Amit Mishra © Getty Images

The most awaited encounter between the two giants India and South Africa has turned out to be disheartening for the Indian fans as the hosts are yet to register a single win in the four clashes so far. To add to their woes, India’s spin pioneer Ravichandran Ashwin has been ruled out from the remainder of the One-Day Internationals (ODIs) after he endured an unfortunate injury during the first game at Kanpur. In his absence, the onus is on the capable shoulders of leggie Amit Mishra to lead the spin attack and he needs to stand up for the prestigious job, writes Suraj Choudhari, if India is eyeing for a victory. Live Cricket Scorecard: India vs South Africa 2015, 2nd ODI at Indore

Before the start of the tournament, one would have crystal glazed and saw India dominating the Proteas as they had the conditions favouring their style of play. But the South Africans have defied all the odds and silenced their harshest critics with a series of consistent performances so far. They’ve fought fire with fire and reprieved India from winning a single encounter.

Spin has been India’s primary weapon especially in the sub-continent, with Ashwin being the spine of it in the recent times. His absence is a huge blow for the Indians and has put more pressure as the burden is on them to make a comeback in the five-match series. Mishra is a wily leg-spinner who brings a lot of variation and stability with his presence in the line-up. He is inarguably the best leg-spinner among the active cricketers in the country and is well capable of leading the spin gun. With Ashwin being unavailable for the rest of the series, Mishra is the man and for India and has a mountain to climb. READ: Amit Mishra aims to exploit Hashim Amla’s weakness

Since Mishra’s inception into national the side he has never managed to be a mainstay due to abundance of effective spinners in the Indian line up and has spent most of the times of his career on the sidelines. Since his ODI debut in 2003 against South Africa, Mishra has played just handful of matches and has done a reasonable job whenever an opportunity was there for the grab. In 28 ODI outings, he has clinched 47 wickets at an average of 23.93. But in the recent times he’s been very productive and yielded fruitful results in terms of wickets.

In the recently concluded Test series against Sri Lanka, Mishra bowled with unparalleled certainty and determination. He had 15 Sri Lankan scalps to his name at an enticing average of 15. He was deceiving and looked in good rhythm. READ: Ravichandran Ashwin and I have good understanding, says Amit Mishra

Even in the Kanpur ODI, Mishra bowled beautifully and quickly adjusted to the conditions, hence giving a testament to his adaptability. He ended up picking couple of wickets when he got the better of Hashim Amla with a canny change of pace which ripped through the latter’s defences and shattered his stumps, whereas David Miller was foxed by an exquisite leg-spin which Dhoni collected from behind the stumps to set him walking.

The question is can Mishra do it without Ashwin? Well, Mishra is a class act all he needs to do is step up to the big occasion and do what he does the best. These are the times which test the individuality of competent players and often bring the best out of them. Mishra on his day can win matches for his side single-handedly and one can expect the 32-year old leggie to shine and bail his team out of such crisis. The excess pressure might trigger him to put up a strong show and lead the bunch from the front. Although Harbhajan Singh has been included in the squad and if named in the playing XI, Mishra will definitely have an added advantage as the turbanator’s experience will come into play.

Mishra has a golden opportunity in his hand to crave a regular spot in the national side which will further help him in the long run of making it to the next edition of the World Cup.

As Indian pace battery is low on charge at the moment much of India’s success will depend on how their spin department fares and with Mishra being the chief of it there is an urge for him to make a substantial contribution.

(Suraj Choudhari is a reporter with Criclife and CricketCountry. He is an avid follower of the game, and plays the sport at club level. He has a radical understanding about the subtle nuances and intricacies of cricket, and tries to express it through paper and pen.)

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