Visakhapatnam. After losing the first two matches, the Indian team, now in a do or die situation, when they take to the field in the third T20 match here on Tuesday with the aim of keeping the series alive, the in-form spinners, opener Ruturaj Gaikwad and the runs themselves. There will be a lot of pressure on captain Rishabh Pant, who is struggling to make it.
India had entered this series by winning 12 consecutive matches, but in front of the strong team of South Africa, they did not play one in the first two matches. The Pant-led team is struggling in many departments and will have to overcome these weaknesses within a day. If in the first match India lost due to poor bowling, then in the second match the batsmen were disappointed. The Indian openers have so far failed to give a good start in the powerplay. Ishan Kishan has done well so far but Ruturaj has been able to score only 23 and one run. Questions are also being raised about his technique in front of the fast bowlers.
Shreyas Iyer has started well but hasn’t been able to score runs fast enough, putting pressure on the batsmen ahead. Hardik Pandya had made some spectacular shots in the first match, but he could not even walk on the wicket of Cuttack. He has also failed in bowling. Pant, who took over the captaincy due to the injury of KL Rahul, has so far scored 29 and five runs. Questions are also being raised on Pant’s decisions as captain. In the second match, the decision to send Axar Patel before Dinesh Karthik proved to be wrong. He is expected to perform well as a captain and as a player.
In the bowling, the spin duo of Yuzvendra Singh Chahal and Axar Patel have disappointed so far. Batsmen like David Miller, Rassie van der Dussen and Heinrich Klaasen have scored runs with ease against him. In the third match, any one of them can be dropped. The team management can take young leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi or all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer. Venkatesh has also been opening the innings in IPL. Barring Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Indian bowlers have failed to take wickets. Indian bowlers are spoiling the hard work done earlier by conceding runs in one or two overs. Now that the series is at stake, they will have to perform well. In such a situation, instead of Avesh Khan, who has not taken a single wicket so far, the Indian team management can give a chance to fast bowler Umran Malik or Arshdeep Singh to make his debut.
South Africa on the other hand is doing well in every department. Its bowlers are taking wickets and the batsmen are playing partnerships. In the first match, David Miller and Rasie van der Dussen showed great performance, while in the second match Heinrich Klaasen played a flowing inning of 81 runs. Kagiso Rabada, Enrique Notreje and Wayne Parnell are doing well in the bowling.
crew :
India: Rishabh Pant (capt and wicketkeeper), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Singh Chahal, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik.
South Africa: Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendrix, Henrik Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Enrique Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Dwayne Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabrez Shamsi, , Rasi van der Dussen, Marco Janssen.
Numbers Game:
In 2010, South Africa lost their last limited over series in India. Then it was defeated 1-2 in the ODI series. Since then South Africa has not lost any ODI or T20 series in India.
Earlier, South Africa had played 2 T20 series in India, out of which they won one and drew one. If South Africa wins this match as well, they will win their second bilateral T20I series in India.
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