IND vs SA Playing-11: Last chance for India to improve death over bowling, Bumrah-Arshdeep can play together

Before the T20 World Cup, the Indian team will play the last T20 series against South Africa. Both the teams are fully prepared for the three-match series starting on Wednesday. India will have the last chance to improve their death over bowling before the World Cup. For this, the team management and captain Rohit Sharma will have two main weapons, both Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh.

Apart from this, the Indian team will come to give good practice to the batsmen. However, this series is not going to be that easy. The last time the South African team toured India, the five-match T20I series was tied 2-2. However, then Rishabh Pant was the captain of Team India and there was no main player on the team including Rohit, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli.

Hardik Pandya will be missed

After winning the series against Australia, Indian captain Rohit Sharma said that there is a need to improve the bowling of the death overs. The Indian team will miss all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who has been rested in this series ahead of the T20 World Cup. Mohammed Shami has not yet recovered from the corona infection and will not be able to play all three matches.

Harshal Patel returned to the series against Australia after recovering from injury but conceded runs at an average of 12 runs per over. Similarly, Bhuvneshwar gave away 91 runs in two matches. However, Bhuvneshwar has also been rested for this series. Both Hardik and Bhuvi have been asked to report to the National Cricket Academy.

Standby Deepak Chahar for the World Cup did not get a chance in the last series and can now play three matches if the fast bowlers are rotated. Good performance in the slog overs will be expected from Arshdeep Singh, who will support Jasprit Bumrah for the first time. That is, for the first time both will be seen playing together in T20.

Ashwin may have to sit on the bench again

Yuzvendra Chahal bowled well on the turning pitch in the third match after the pitch remained flat in the first two matches against Australia. Keeping in mind the pitches of Australia, Chahal will be aiming to improve his performance. Rohit Sharma has talked about giving a chance to all the players before the World Cup. In such a situation, Ravichandran Ashwin will be given a chance in the playing-11 but it is a bit difficult to do so in the first T20. Rohit can take to the field only with the pair of Akshar and Chahal.

Karthik and Pant both can play

In batting, KL Rahul could not run against Australia and he would like to make up for it in this series. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are in form and Rahul will also have to score runs at a fast pace. Dinesh Karthik got just eight deliveries to play against Australia and Rohit has already said that he needs to spend more time at the crease. Deepak Hooda, who was included in the World Cup squad, will not be able to play against South Africa due to a back injury. Rishabh Pant can be fielded in his place.

Looking for first win in home bilateral T20 series

India has not defeated South Africa in the domestic bilateral T20 series. The two teams will face each other in the group stage of the World Cup in Australia, but the circumstances will be different. Both teams can find their weaknesses and work on them in these three matches. South Africa's Tabrez Shamsi said – In Australia, the pitches will be different and the grounds will be bigger, but the bowler should always keep working on his performance. This will be a golden opportunity to try the Indian batsmen.

India-South Africa match in statistics

India and South Africa have faced each other 20 times in T20. Out of this, Team India has won 11 matches and South Africa has won eight matches. One match was inconclusive. At the same time, on Indian soil, the matter is the opposite. On home soil, India has played nine T20Is against South Africa. Team India won only three matches out of this, while South Africa won five matches. One match is inconclusive.

Probable Playing-11 of Both Teams

India: Rohit Sharma (capt), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Deepak Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal.

South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Temba Bavuma (c), Riley Russo, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Andile Felukwayo/Dwayne Pretorius, Marco Yansen, Kagiso Rabada, Enrique Nortje, Tabriz Shamsi.

Teams are as follows

India: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer, Shahbaz Ahmed.

South Africa: Temba Bavuma (captain), Quinton de Kock, Bjorn Fortune, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Marco Yansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Enrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Andile Felukwayo, Dwayne Pretorius, Kagiso Pretorius Rabada, Riley Russo, Tabriz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs.

Also Read: Challenge of winning the series for the first time in 7 years: First T20 match between India and South Africa today, know the possible playing XI of both the teams