De Villiers denies Ashwin has got his number

South Africa's cricket captain AB de Villiers speaks during a news conference in Colombo July 4, 2014. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte/Files

KANPUR, India (Reuters) - South Africa one-day captain AB de Villiers swatted aside suggestions that India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin could prove his nemesis in the five-match series starting in Kanpur on Sunday.

Ashwin proved his ability to outsmart a key rival batsman in August when he soured Kumar Sangakkara's farewell by dismissing the retiring Sri Lankan great in each of his last four test innings.

South Africa have kicked off their longest ever tour of India in emphatic fashion by clinching the three-match Twenty20 series 2-0 with the final game being abandoned due to a wet outfield in Kolkata.

Ashwin got the better of De Villiers in both matches but the Proteas captain is refusing to panic.

"I think I can answer that very well," De Villiers, one of the most destructive batsmen in world cricket, told reporters on Saturday.

"He is a very good bowler but I don't think I got out to him in either of the two games. I got myself out in both the games," said De Villiers, keen to take the momentum from the Twenty20 series into the one-dayers.

"When you start having technical flaws against a bowler, then you have to worry about it. I was looking to dominate against him.

"In the last game I got little bit lazy perhaps and played for spin and didn't get spin. Not much to worry about except for the fact that he is a world-class bowler and needs to be respected."

Like several of his team mates who play in the Indian Premier League (IPL), De Villiers is familiar with the local conditions and expects India to hit back through their spinners.

"It does not look like a spinning track, it looks like a good wicket. But we prepare to face a lot of spin when we come to India," he said of the pitch at the Green Park Stadium.

His counterpart Mahendra Singh Dhoni did not rule out fielding three spinners.

"This is one of those venues where we can (try the combination). We will see how dry it is tomorrow and what are the chances," he said.

"There will be no dew, so the three-spinner option is available to us," added the India captain.

(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; editing by Ed Osmond)