Follow Us“It is good to see a bilateral going down the line,” said Dinesh Karthik after receiving his player-of-the-match award in the fourth T20I in Rajkot. It has been almost a year since India played a series decider in white-ball cricket. Since a rare T20I series defeat against Sri Lanka last July, India won three series in a row, clean sweeping each one of them. After storming through New Zealand, West Indies, and Sri Lanka, they have faced a tough challenge against a full-strength South African unit. After going 0-2 down, the hosts have made a strong comeback to lock the five-match series at 2-2 with one T20I left.
The last time India failed to win a T20I bilateral series at home was against South Africa itself, back in 2019 when the final T20I was abandoned due to rain, ending the three-match series 1-1. In fact, South Africa have never lost a bilateral T20I series at home. Hence, there are two streaks on the line here - India’s winning run at home and South Africa's invincible record in the subcontinent nation. Hang on, there is a third possibility as well. The Bangalore forecast suggests thunderstorms in the evening which will lead us to a repeat of the 2019 series - a leveled series due to a rained-off series decider.
But hoping for the best, we delve into things to watch out for in this encounter.
South Africa searching for a batting superhero
What aided South Africa in the first two T20Is were superlative batting performances, bordering on the line of the adjective freakish. In Delhi, Rassie van der Dussen and David Miller forged a 131-run stand from only 64 deliveries. In Cuttack, Heinrich Klaasen hammered 81 off 46 balls.
Since then, the same magic has gone missing from their batting resources. The visitors have been bowled out for scores of 131 and 87. The latter is their lowest team total in T20I cricket, a stark contrast from chasing down their highest T20I total in the first T20I.
The Proteas are in need of another ‘freakish’ batting display from one of their batters. It is a good time for Quinton de Kock to step up. The wicketkeeper batter was in excellent form during the IPl and has always fancied facing the Indian attack. He has the most T20I runs for a South African batter in India and would like to pile on that tally. At present, he only has scores of 22 and 14 in the series alongside missing two games due to injury.
Iyer’s struggle against pace and Pant’s failure to get going
Shreyas Iyer’s long lasting troubles against pace have become more prominent in this series. He has belted the spinners alright, striking them at 192.6 for only one dismissal and 52 runs. Iyer has neutralized the threat of Tabraiz Shamsi, scoring 40 runs off only 17 balls with the help of five sixes. But against pace, he has been a dead duck. The right-hander has only 42 runs off 48 balls against the Protea pacers in this series. Hence, unless the openers see off the powerplay, Iyer has had little chance of success. The same can turn out to be a vital factor in the series decider.
India have struggled with their number four as well in the stand-in skipper, Rishabh Pant. The left-hander has only 57 runs in four innings at a strike-rate of 105.6. What is ominous in Pant’s case is that the visitors seem to have worked him out. They have bowled wide to him and Pant has perished thrice to that line trying too hard to score.
South Africa will aim to hurt India in these two spots. Therefore, a big opening stand will be crucial for the home side.
Rabada a key factor for South Africa
Twice in the last two matches, South Africa have established a squeeze in the 11 to 15 over block but have squandered the advantage at the death. In Vizag (third T20I), they leaked 31 runs in the last three overs to let India sail through to a total of 179. In Rajkot (fourth T20I), they conceded 73 runs in the last five overs. Kagiso Rabada wasn’t available in Rajkot due to an unspecified niggle.
Regaining his old touch, Rabada has gone at only 8 runs per over at the death this series. All other South African pacers have conceded at 9.8 runs per over or more in that face. Rabada’s availability thus becomes key from South Africa’s point of view.
Probable XIs
India
There has been a notable pattern with India’s team selection under the coaching of Rahul Dravid. They don’t make changes unless the series is decided. Consequently, India have played the same XI throughout the series and it is likely they will continue with the trend.
Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal
South Africa
There is no news yet on Temba Bavuma’s injury. The South Africa skipper suffered a blow to his left elbow in Rajkot and had to retire hurt. If he misses out in Bangalore, Reeza Hendricks will take his place at the top of the order and Keshav Maharaj will lead the side. Rabada and Wayne Parnell can also come back given the series is on the line.
Quinton de Kock (wk), Temba Bavuma/Reeza Hendricks, Dwaine Pretorius, Rassie van der Dussen, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Wayne Parnell/Marco Jansen, Anrich Nortje, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi/Lungi Ngidi