Five talking points ahead of the big game
As the action takes centrestage in Vizag, team India will look to get their first win and deny South Africa a straight-up series victory. The Proteas lead the series 2-0 and look in red hot form even with COVID and injury replacements. On the both the occasions in Delhi and Cuttack, India were invited to bat first and went down defending. Captain Pant's tactics and unpredictable bowling changes have not contributed to India's winning cause and it will be interesting to see how the team comes out of this turmoil. Here are few key aspects that India will look to address ahead of this crucial match.
Gaikwad's woes:
As far as the T20Is are concerned, opening pair and the opening combination has been India's headache. With Rohit Sharma resting and KL Rahul missing out with an injury, youngster Ruturaj Gaikwad was given this responsibility to open the batting with Ishan Kishan. The Chennai Super Kings star batsman who had a very dismal run in the IPL earlier this year just can't put bat to ball and express pace bowling from Nortje and Rabada has troubled him. Gaikwad will be backed and can open for the rest of the series but it is time that he starts firing.
Iyer's inconsistency:
Shreyas Iyer was being touted as the next big thing in Indian cricket. The Mumbai based batsman who can hit the long ball is far from his best and his strike rate has been a big concern for the team. His weakness against the short delivery is something that the opposition has used time and again to restrain him from going out all guns blazing. Iyer who was appointed Kolkata Knight Rider's captain earlier this year could not perform for his franchise too. As of now Iyer does not look like getting a spot in the world T20I squad as he is in direct competition with the likes of Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav.
The absence of Yuzvendra Chahal's purple patch
Before the series started, big bets were placed on Yuzi Chahal and his ability to win matches for his side. The Rajasthan Royals veteran won the purple cap in IPL 2022 and had impressed everybody with the prowess of his spin. Times changed quickly and the magic from Chahal's bowling just faded away. At this point of time, it looks like Chahal is on the radar of the Proteas team as he was brutally hammered by Rassie van der Dussen in the first T20I and by Henreich Klaasen in the second T20I. If India are to win their first match, Chahal will have to be at his best and strangle the scoring as he did in the IPL.
The Hardik Pandya overs
Mumbai Indians left Hardik out of their majorly because of his bowling. The injury prone Baroda based player was a part of India's world T20I squad last year but did not bowl which raised many eyebrows. Gujarat Titans picked Hardik Pandya and named him as their captain and he led them to a title victory. When Hardik returned to the Indian outfit, he was expected to perform both with the bat and the ball. The Gujarat Titans captain contributed with the bat but fell short of bowling performances when he was handed the ball. It is very crucial for India that Hardik operates as the sixth bowling option and helps his team to contain the opposition.
The leadership of Rishabh Pant
With full-time skipper Rohit Sharma resting and stand-in skipper KL Rahul being ruled out of the series, Rishabh Pant was handed over the team India captaincy. What transpired after is just a series of failure. The Delhi Capitals skipper has been extremely defensive with his captaincy and has failed to take advantage of the winning situations in the game. India needs Pant to think out of the box and to stay a step ahead of the game.
India are 2-0 down in the series and they need to play out of the skin to avoid a series defeat.
