Harshal Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal shared seven wickets as India beat South Africa by 48 runs in the third Twenty20 to remain alive in the five-game series on Tuesday. South Africa, who won the first two matches, won the toss and opted to field again. But the ploy didn't work for the visitors. Indian openers put on 97 off 60 balls for the first wicket, steering India to 179 for 5 in 20 overs. Thereafter, Harshal picked 4-25 and Chahal returned 3-20 as the duo helped India bowl out South Africa for 131. (India vs South Africa 4th T20 Live Score)
As the action shifts to Rajkot, India will look forward to continuing their winning run, while the Proteas set sights on the T20 series win. But will Pant and head coach Rahul Dravid tinker with the winning combination? Youngsters Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh are yet to make their debut and the think-tank may consider letting one of the two pacers play.
India didn't make any changes to the eleven despite losing the first two T20s. But former Pakistan tweaker Danish Kaneria feels the opposition becomes familiar with the bowling set-up if a team sticks to the same set of players. Kaneria, who represented Pakistan in international cricket between 2000 and 2010, said Umran should replace Avesh, who has been expensive and struggled to find wickets as well.
"Bhuvneshwar is always economical. He gets movement with the new ball. Avesh was on the expensive side. But does that mean Umran and Arshdeep walk into the playing XI? I feel both players can replace Avesh. Left-arm pacer Arshdeep can leave his mark but I will go with Umran. Avesh can be rested and Umran can be tried out for a change. Because India have another must-win game here. If they stick with the same bowling line-up, the opposition becomes familiar with the attack. Yes, some guys have the experience of playing against each other in the IPL... there's a different kind of pressure and situation in international cricket," said Kaneria on his YouTube channel.
{{/usCountry}}"Bhuvneshwar is always economical. He gets movement with the new ball. Avesh was on the expensive side. But does that mean Umran and Arshdeep walk into the playing XI? I feel both players can replace Avesh. Left-arm pacer Arshdeep can leave his mark but I will go with Umran. Avesh can be rested and Umran can be tried out for a change. Because India have another must-win game here. If they stick with the same bowling line-up, the opposition becomes familiar with the attack. Yes, some guys have the experience of playing against each other in the IPL... there's a different kind of pressure and situation in international cricket," said Kaneria on his YouTube channel.
{{/usCountry}}Kaneria also dissected captain Rishabh Pant's batting approach, saying the Indian should bat responsibly. The 24-year-old stumper has been caught in the deep multiple times in an attempt to hit the ball. He scored just six in the previous T20 before falling prey to a Dwaine Pretorius slower delivery.
"Rishabh has to bat with maturity. His mature outlook will benefit the team as well. He does score runs but not on a consistent basis. Talking about Karthik, he hit just 6 off 8. But he had steered India to a respectable total in the previous game. But it was Gaikwad, Ishan, Chahal and Harshal who helped the team win the fourth T20," he further added.