JOIN USSouth African batsman JP Duminy expects India to provide close contest during the six-match 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 they've managed to compete in all conditions around the world. You don't 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 on Tuesday.
"They 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 that's what you want to see from high profile teams."
Batsmen from both sides struggled during the Test series on bowler-friendly pitches. Duminy said that the ODI pitches will be more batsmen friendly, but added that India's top-order batsmen will have to improve their poor showing from 2013.
"The pitches are going to be more batsmen friendly, I think. Its probably going to be high-scoring games across the country. And that'll obviously bring the teams closer together. The key fundamentals for me in one-day cricket are partnerships with ball and bat. The team that gets that right has the best chance of winning," said Duminy.
Duminy said that a lot of changes have happened in how teams now approach their middle overs. "It depends on the make up of your team. If you look back to a team like England, who bat 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 that's 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 300-past score. These days, even 300 is not good enough. Even with 350, you're still not guaranteed a win. So, its about understanding whats the make-up, what each players role is and understanding how to go about that role," he said.
"There's 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."