The South African cricket team will conclude the three-match T20I series against the Indian cricket team on Thursday as the two teams will battle it out against each other in the final T20 International. The much-hyped game of cricket will be played at the New Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Thursday.
It would be the last chance for the Indian cricket team to level the series and avoid a loss. The team is likely to be in high spirits as they won the five-match series against Australia by a massive 4-1 earlier this month.
Suryakumar Yadav is likely to be the main asset for the Men in Blue as he has been in spectacular form with the bat. Ravindra Jadeja is also expected to put up a fine performance while Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav will be the bowlers to watch out for.
As far as the South African team is concerned, they will have less pressure on their head as they are already leading 1-0. The opening batter Reeza Hendricks will be the batter in charge following his good performance in the second T20I while Gerald Coetzee and Tabraiz Shamsi will be the highlights with the ball in hand.
What has happened so far?
The first T20 International between the two teams was washed out without the toss because of poor weather conditions in Kingsmead, Durban. Meanwhile, the second T20I saw the Proteas smashing a win by five wickets against the Men in Blue.
Before the start of the series, India played a 5-match T20I series against Australia and the Suryakumar-led side sealed the series 4-1 as both teams fielded their second-string squads. Before that, the Men in Blue last played a T20I series in August against Ireland and the Jasprit Bumrah-led side won the series 2-0.
On the other hand, South Africa played a three-match series against Australia and lost the series 3-0 preceded by a 2-1 loss to West Indies with both series played on home soil.
Head to Head Record
India and South Africa have had a good time playing against each other in the shortest format of the game in international cricket.
The two teams have locked horns with each other a total of 24 times in the T20 Internationals and India have scored a win in 13 matches. The Proteas have won ten games while one game between them ended without any result.
Key Players
Gerald Coetzee dismissed three left-handed Indian batters on Tuesday
Gerald Coetzee (South Africa): For the South African cricket team, Gerald Coetzee would be the man in command. The right-arm seamer displayed a good form of cricket in the second T20 International. He ended up with three wickets to his name including Tilak Verma, Ravindra Jadeja, and Arshdeep Singh at an economy rate of 9.1.
Though Coetzee is very new to the side with only four T20Is to his name, he can do wonders for the hosts on Thursday.
Suraykumar Yadav (India): During the final match of the T20I series against South Africa, the responsibility will fall on the skipper Suryakumar Yadav to put up a terrific performance with the bat and take India home. The middle-order batter was the wrecker-in-chief for his team against Australia as he hammered the bowlers all over the park on the Indian grounds.
Yadav has maintained his stellar form against South Africa as well. The second T20 International saw the batter ending up as the second-highest performer for the Indian team with a knock of 56 runs off just 36 balls with the help of nine boundaries and two maximums.
Predicted XIs
South Africa: Matthew Breetzke, Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram ©, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Andile Phehlukwayo, Gerald Coetzee, Lizaad Williams, Tabraiz Shamsi
India: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav ©, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar
Prediction
The Men in Blue are the favorites to win the Thursday match against South Africa and level the three-match T20I series by 1-1. The Proteas cannot be taken lightly as they will be playing in their home conditions but the visitors have a dynamic squad at their disposal which promises to serve another scintillating encounter on Thursday.