With the series already in the bag, India will take on South Africa in the final T20I of the three-match series in Indore on October 4.
This will be the final T20I for both sides ahead of the T20 World Cup that starts in Australia on October 16.
Match Preview
India have put on strong batting performances in both T20Is so far. They chased down 107 comfortably in the first match with eight wickets remaining and then posted a massive total of 237/3 in Guwahati. However, their death bowling still remains a concern for them as the pacers have been leaking a lot of runs in the last five overs of the innings. South Africa reached 221 while chasing 238 in the last match and most of those runs came in the final few overs. India will be hoping to come up with an improved death bowling performance in this match and there might be some changes too. According to reports, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul are all set to be rested for this match. So, we might see Shreyas iyer and Shahbaz Ahmed walking into the XI in their place.
South Africa, on the other hand, need to find answers to their top-order woes and bowling overall. It has been their middle and lower-order batters who have scored runs in both of the two matches so far. The performance of skipper Temba Bavuma at the top of the order has been worrying and Quinton de Kock has been struggling with his form as well. As far as bowling goes, their pacers haven’t lived up to their reputation. The likes of Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi haven’t proved as lethal as they are considered to be. Although they have lost the series already, the Proteas will be looking to bow out on a high with a win in this contest.
Probable Starting Lineups
India
Rishabh Pant(wk), Rohit Sharma (c), Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Dinesh Karthik, Shahbaz Ahmed, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar, Arshdeep Singh
South Africa
Quinton de Kock (wk), Temba Bavuma (c), Rilee Rossouw, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Wayne Parnell, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi
Key Players
Suryakumar Yadav
The Indian middle-order batter has been in superb form in this series. He has scores of 50*(33) and 61(22) to his name in the two matches so far and will be eyeing another good performance in the final match of the series.
David Miller
The southpaw has been enjoying a purple patch this year. Miller scored an unbeaten 106 off just 47 deliveries in the last match, but that still ended up in a losing cause. With the top-order out of form, it will be important for Miller to step up once again.
Prediction
Although India’s bowling form in the death overs has been concerning, they have ticked almost every other box and that has helped them to dominate in two matches so far. South Africa, on the other hand, have many issues in both batting and bowling departments. Hence, India will start as the favourites to win this contest once again.
