The fifth and the final ODI of the series between England and South Africa will be played at Durban on Friday. England will go into the game knowing fully well that they cannot lose the series, as they possess a 2-1 lead, and all the running will be needed to be done by South Africa. South Africa will be under a lot of pressure as their performance has been anything but exemplary in this series and after having shared the T20Is 1-1, they know that they will not be winning the ODI series either!

Sunday's game had seen the hosts collapse to a shoddy 119 despite his third century in a row, by Alviro Petersen. Of course, it was the bowling of James Anderson on a track that was helping a little bit of a swing earlier on that pegged the South Africans back, but questions must be asked off Graeme Smith for having won the toss and elected to bat first. In Kingsmead in Durban, he may still want to bat first and pile up the pressure in a crucial game.

The South African batting has looked very inconsistent in the absence of Jacques Kallis. It has become more of a hit or miss types, with only Petersen having showing signs of form on a consistent basis, apart from the twin half centuries by Hashim Amla. Smith himself would be desperate to get some runs under his belt, whereas one gets the sense that Herschelle Gibbs may be given a go in the match. Gibbs had been called up as a cover for Kallis but hasn't yet played a game in the series.

The bowling has looked a trifle better with the return of Morne Morkel, but Dale Steyn could better than go for more than five runs per over on a consistent basis in this series.

As compared to this, England does not seem to have too many problems. They had been crushed in the third ODI thanks to an AB de Villiers' whirlwind, but the batsmen did try and make a match out of that too. This time around, Strauss may want to bat first and pile on the agony for the South African side, whose performance in the Champions Trophy had already come under a bit of a scanner. Chasing a total of more than 250 under lights and under pressure could add much of a stress on them.

The English side had come into the series as underdogs and knowing that they cannot lose the series from here will mean that they will play without any pressure and could be favourites to win the series 3-1.

Tag :- Alviro Petersen   Champions Trophy   Dale Steyn   England   Herschelle Gibbs   Jacques Kallis   South Africa