India vs South Africa 3rd T20 playing XI tip off: Gill stays as opener ...
After the first T20I was washed off, Proteas made short work of India’s 152-run revised total in a 15-over chase that they saw off with seven balls to spare and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. India will be looking to avoid only a second-ever T20I series defeat to South Africa.
The defeat in Gqeberha asked a lot of questions to the visitors, who were unable to defend what seemed like an above par total on a ground historically known to have aided the bowlers more than it does to the batters.
So, with a series result at stake, here are the possible changes the men in blue can make to their XI in the third T20I on Thursday.
Shubman Gill keeps his spot
With Ruturaj Gaikwad having been unavailable for selection owing to illness, Shubman Gill walked in to open alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal. It was Jaiswal and Gaikwad, who’d opened for India in the five T20Is against Australia recently. But with the latter’s fitness under doubt, it is unlikely that Gill – who has been played as an all-format opener by India over the last year – doesn’t start in the final T20I, even though he was removed cheaply on Tuesday.
Speaking ahead of the game in Gqeberha, Gill had termed the ongoing series as an important one for him and the team. “I haven’t had that much of T20Is under my belt so this series and the three matches in India will be very important,” he’d said. With around six months time left in the next T20 World Cup, India have a luxury of openers to pick from that also includes the ODI and Test captain Rohit Sharma, who hasn’t played a T20I for India since the last T20 World Cup but hasn’t sidelined himself officially from the format.
India’s Ruturaj Gaikwad celebrates his century during the third T20 cricket match between India and Australia India in Guwahati, India, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Deepak Chahar returns
One of the key areas of concern for India would be the way the Proteas batters took the attack to their quicks. While Arshdeep Singh conceded 31 runs from just his two overs on the night without picking a wicket, Mukesh Kumar also had an economy exceeding 11. The chase of 152 had started looking not-so-daunting inside the first couple of overs, which costed India a total of 38 runs.
The team management may be eyeing someone like a Deepak Chahar, whose penchant for swinging the ball both ways in the initial overs is well known, giving India an option to attack the opposition batters right from the word go. But who would India swap him with? Will the left-armer’s angular advantage keep Arshdeep in the fray at the cost of Mukesh? If the past couple of years are to be taken into account, the pacer has played more games than any other bowler for India since his debut in July 2022, and has most wickets in the format.
No Bishnoi, again?
Ravi Bishnoi was India’s player of the series for the five-T20Is against Australia. The leggie has since emerged as the no. 1 in ICC’s T20 bowling rankings. And yet, when it came to the second T20I, he was overlooked for Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja, who had their first share of cricket since the ODI World Cup final.
Bengaluru: Indian bowler Ravi Bishnoi celebrates the wicket of Australian batter Aaron Hardie during the 5th T20I cricket match between India and Australia, at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru, Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023. (PTI Photo/Shailendra Bhojak)
Despite India leaking big on the night, both the left arm spinners managed to keep a comparitively better economy rate, making case for another game on Thursday. The question for the Indian management then would be if they are eyeing to keep a leg spinner in the fray for next year’s marquee tournament. If so, the exclusion of Bishnoi makes little sense with just the five T20Is left to be played until the World Cup.
Forced changes for the Proteas
Despite having won on Tuesday, South Africa are left with no choice but to substitute Gerald Coetzee and Marco Jansen, who have been released to prepare for Tests against India. While Keshav Maharaj presents a big spin option, the Proteas also have left-arm quick Nandre Burger and Ottniel Baartman to choose from as far as the pacers go.
Predicted playing XI:
India: Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj
South Africa: Matthew Breetzke, Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram (c), Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Keshav Maharaj, Andile Phehlukwayo, Nandre Burger, Lizaad Williams, Tabraiz Shamsi
