On Friday evening, India and South Africa square off in the penultimate game of the T20I series at the Saurashtra Cricket Association in Rajkot. After losing the first two matches in Delhi and Cuttack, India won their first match of the series on Tuesday in Visakhapatnam. Continue reading for a preview of this game. The series’ fourth game begins at 19:00 local time.
India delivered a very satisfying team performance on Tuesday, which puts them in good stead. The opening batting pair laid the groundwork for the victory before Harshal Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal took over with the ball.
South Africa’s winning streak in the T20Is has ended, and it will be interesting to see how they respond against a resurgent India. To win this game, the visitors must perform at or near their peak.
India vs South Africa
India Team News:
India retained the same XI that played in the first and second games of the series ahead of Wednesday’s 48-run victory. Avesh Khan was the most expensive of India’s bowlers in Visakhapatnam, going wicketless for the third time in a row. We believe Khan will be replaced by Umran Malik, who will be making his debut.
India Squad
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(c & wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, Venkatesh Iyer, Y Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, R Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik
Players to watch out for:
Ishan Kishan
India’s opener continues to impress at the top of the order. He has scored 54 more runs in the series than any other player on either side.
Hardik Pandya
The big-hitting all-rounder hit 31 runs off 21 balls on Tuesday, including four fours. He was named captain of the upcoming T20I series in Ireland on Wednesday.
Harshal Patel
The 31-year-old quick bowler took one wicket in both of the series’ first two games before dismissing Reeza Hendricks, David Miller, Kagiso Rabada, and Tabraiz Shamsi in Visakhapatnam.
Possible Playing XI:
Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Yuzvendra Chahal, Deepak Hooda, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan
India Team Form
After two consecutive defeats, India looked very impressive on Tuesday, and there is no doubt that they now have momentum in the series.
South Africa Team News:
Quinton de Kock, the South Africans’ keeper-batter, was expected to return from a wrist injury and bat at the top of the order in the third T20I, but he was not risked. We expect him to return for this game, but we wouldn’t be surprised if Heinrich Klassen kept his spot behind the stumps.
South Africa Squad
Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs, Rassie van der Dussen, Marco Jansen
Players to watch out for:
Quinton de Kock
The left-handed opener is an important part of South Africa’s team, especially with the bat. In this format, he has 11 half-centuries.
Heinrich Klassen
The wicket-keeper was only reintroduced to the team due to Quinton de Kock’s injury, but he took advantage of the opportunity and led his team to victory in both games.
Kagiso Rabada
The right-arm pace bowler added another dismissal to his tally in this series with the dismissal of Dinesh Karthik in India’s penultimate over.
Possible Playing XI:
Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen
South Africa Team Form
South Africa failed to make it seven wins in a row in this format on Tuesday. However, a win in this game will give them the series victory.
India vs South Africa Top Team Batsmen:
We recommend Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Shreyas Iyer to bat for India. Gaikwad scored his first international half-century in the third T20I and will be pumped for this game.
Quinton de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen, and Temba Bavuma are our batting picks for South Africa. Since making his international debut in 2018, van der Dussen has scored 24 fifties and two centuries.
India vs South Africa Top Team Bowlers:
Yuzvendra Chahal, Harshal Patel, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will take the field for India. Patel and Kumar have taken the most wickets in the series, each with six.
Our bowling picks for South Africa are Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, and Anrich Nortje. Nortje struggled in the previous game but has already taken three wickets in the series.
India vs South Africa Head to Head
With Tuesday’s victory, India has moved two wins ahead of South Africa in the T20I series. India, on the other hand, has not won consecutive T20Is against South Africa since 2014.
India vs South Africa Head to Head Stats in T20I
| Matches Played | IND Won | SA Won | Draw | Tie | |
| Overall | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 4 |
| Last 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
India vs South Africa Toss Prediction
South Africa has won the toss and chosen to bat first in all three games so far in the series. Fielding first is also the standard strategy in evening games in Rajkot, and we expect both captains to do so if they win the toss.
India vs South Africa Pitch Report
Spin bowlers dominated the previous T20I match played on this pitch in November 2019. We anticipate another turning wicket, making any score above 180 extremely difficult to chase.
Cloudy skies throughout, with humidity reaching 71 percent by the end of the game. From start to finish, the temperature will be above 30 degrees.
India vs South Africa Prediction
India demonstrated their strength with bat and ball on Tuesday, and we anticipate another strong performance from the home team in Rajkot. South Africa struggled under pressure in their previous match, and this will be another difficult test. We predict India to win and tie the series at 2-2.
