India vs South Africa 3rd T20 Highlights: Chahal, Harshal star in India's 48-run win; hosts keep series alive

While Ishan Kishan has laid the blueprint for fearless batting against the new ball, Ruturaj Gaikwad has struggled so far scoring just 23 and 1 in two matches which has raised questions over his batting against quality pacers and ability to force the run rate in the powerplay.

Shreyas Iyer, on the other hand, has struggled against fast bowlers so far and has been unable to capitalise or push the run-rate.

Weather forecast for Vishakhapatnam shows that there is a 20 per cent chance of rain in the evening and high humidity is expected.

Among 27 bowlers (min. 60 deliveries in the death overs) during IPL 2022, Arshdeep (7.91) registered the second-best economy rate among pacers after Jasprit Bumrah (7.66). The youngster has also delivered the joint-most yorkers (38) during the 15th IPL season, along with Bumrah.

The young left-arm pacer, who played for Punjab Kings in IPL 2022, had impressed the selectors, with his superb variations in the death overs. 

“The last time I got really excited at seeing an Indian player was Sachin Tendulkar. And after that I am excited to see Umran Malik. I do believe he should play, but again they might say that let us win the third one and get ourselves in a situation and then may be they can think about experimenting. It also depends on what the kind of surface they will get at Vizag,” the former India captain said on Star Sports.

With 24 wickets in IPL 2022 for SRH, Umran was the most talked-about bowler from the season. His searing pace and wicket-taking abilities earned him a India call-up. But will India hand a debut cap to Umran at Vishakhapatnam? 

“The major problem is the fact that they don't have wicket-taking bowlers in this squad apart from Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yuzvendra Chahal. So, you take wickets and then you get the opposition under pressure. So, in both the matches, did anybody look like getting a wicket apart from Bhuvneshwar Kumar? He was getting the ball to move. That is the issue which is the reason why a total of 211 was something that they could not defend,” Sunil Gavaskar said on Star Sports after the 2nd T20I.

In eight overs across two innings, Bhuvneshwar has picked five wickets at 11.2 and at an economy rate of just 7. Others bowlers have combined to pick just 4 wickets at an economy rate of 10.14.

"I think he [Bhuvneshwar Kumar] gave us a really good start, the exact start we required from Bhuvi and you always know that he's known for his swing bowling and the wicket really helped him. He executed his plans really well. He's someone who's got a lot of experience."

Seven of 10 wickets Bhuvneshwar picked this year in T20I cricket were in the powerplay, where he averages just 9.7 with a strike rate of 12 and has conceded a boundary every 8.4 balls. The numbers are his best ever since 2014/15 season.

Since July 2021, South Africa have lost just two T20I games - against West Indies at St George's and against Australia in Abu Dhabi in 2021 T20 World Cup. They have won 13 out of 15 matches during the phase.

India have played three T20I games at the venue. The first, in 2012 against New Zealand, was abandoned. India lost the second game, against Sri Lanka in 2016 and lost to Australia in 2019. South Africa are yet to play at the venue.

India have not lost bilateral T20I series at home since 2019 against Australia. During this run, India have won seven series and drawn once, against South Africa in 2019.

South Africa's win-loss record in India is their best in any nation (min. 4 games) outside home in T20Is. They have positive record in Sri Lanka (5-2), West Indies (5-2) and New Zealand (3-1). However, they have lost 5 of their seven games in Australia and 3 of their 5 in England.

South Africa have lost just one T20I game in India so far since their maiden appearance in the country in 2015. Their only defeat came in Mohali in 2019. Overall, the Proteas own a 5-1 record in eight T20I games against India in India, two of which were abandoned. 

The visiting South Africa side have never lost a bilateral T20I series in India. They had won 2-0 in 2015 and had drawn 1-1 in 2019. In fact, the last time South Africa lost a bilateral white-ball series in India was in 2009/10 in the ODI format. They head defeated India in the 50-over format in 2015.

Hello and welcome to the Live coverage of the third T20I match of the five-match series between India and South Africa at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. Stay tuned for more updates!