Both teams have issues to address
This series is a bit strange, with two teams below full strength, with several big names resting for more pressing commitments, facing off in a format that has taken a backseat in terms of broader relevance, with no immediate world event coming up. which to build. It’s also strange that it lasts four games, instead of three or five.
For all that, they have been extremely competitive, and at 1-1 they could be shaping up for a highly successful second half. After sharing honors on the coast, South Africa and India now move to the pace, true bounce and high altitude of the Highveld with everything on the line.
With both sides trying out young players and new combinations, neither team will put much stock in how individuals have fared so far. But there are broad questions at the team level that you may want to discuss.
How the two teams resolve or resolve these issues could very well determine how this series ends.
forms guide
South Africa WLLWL (last five T20Is completed, most recent first)
India LWWWW
In the spotlight: David Miller and Abhishek Sharma
team news
South Africa (possible): 1 Ryan Rickelton, 2 Reeza Hendricks, 3 Aiden Markram (captain), 4 Tristan Stubbs, 5 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 6 David Miller, 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Andile Simelane/Lutho Sipamla, 9 Gerald Coetzee, 10 Keshav Maharaj, 11 Nqabayomzi Peter
There is no quick fix to India’s batting depth problem within their team, but they could still try to mix things up. Three players from his team are still waiting for their first T20I internationals: fast bowlers Vijaykumar Vyshak and Yash Dayal and explosive lower-middle-order batsman Ramandeep Singh.
India (possible): 1 Sanju Samson (wk), 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Suryakumar Yadav (captain), 4 Tilak Varma, 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Rinku Singh, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Arshdeep Singh, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Avesh Khan, 11 Varun Chakravarthy
Field and conditions
Statistics and curiosities
- Of the six South African grounds that have hosted at least three T20Is since the start of the decade, Centurion has been the highest scoring, with teams batting at 10.90 per over and averaging 33.25 runs per wicket.
- Miller (81) has the most catches taken by a non-wicketkeeper in all T20Is.
- Varun already has eight wickets in this series and has a strong chance, with two matches left, of surpassing the Indian record for most wickets in a T20I bilateral series of nine, held by R Ashwin and Bishnoi.
- Since his debut in July 2022, no full member player has taken more wickets than Arshdeep Singh’s 89.
Quotes
“Everyone on the team hates to lose. In the first game, we didn’t play at our best level, if we can call it that. And then in the second game, the whole focus was on trying to give ourselves the best chance. To win in the second game, we were much more focused on winning those little battles because in T20 two or three overs are really. [significant]many things can happen. So for us, it was just a point of focus in terms of trying to win those little battles. And I think we won most of the little battles, even though it was a low-scoring game.”
South African offroad Marco Jansen
“I have had a very good bowling partner in Jassi. bhai. It has helped me immensely in taking a lot of wickets by creating pressure from the other end. So a lot of credit goes to him too. But the main thing is how well can I adapt to the conditions and situations of the game, how can I attack the batsman from the beginning and take some early wickets. And even in death, how can I outsmart them and return the game to our hands?
Indian fast bowler Arshdeep Singh on Jasprit Bumrah’s role in his growth as an international cricketer
