SA vs IND: 3rd T20I Preview – Wanderers gears up for a high-stakes encounter

Having lost the second T20I by five wickets, India will look to make a strong comeback as they take on South Africa in the third and final game of the series on Thursday, December 14 at New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg. The Indian batting put up a decent score in the second game of 180/7 in 19.3 overs before rain interrupted play.

Suryakumar Yadav (56 off 36) and Rinku Singh (68* off 39) starred with the bat for the Men in Blue. In reply, South Africa were set a revised target of 152 in 15 overs. Eventually, they chased down with seven balls to spare. Reeza Hendricks (49 off 27) and Aiden Markram (30 off 17) were the top scorers for South Africa.

The Indian bowlers were hammered left, right and centre by the South African batters who were always ahead of the required run rate throughout the game. Arshdeep Singh was the most expensive Indian bowler during the match as he leaked 31 runs in two overs. The Indian team management also came under the scanner for dropping world’s no. 1 T20I bowler Ravi Bishnoi and star batters Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan.

Captain Suryakumar Yadav will be eager to put all the pieces of the puzzle together in the last game. Hence, helping his side level the series.

Pitch Report

In the last five matches played at the venue, three have been won by teams batting first. The average first innings score has been 188. While, the highest target chased in the history of the venue is 232. Captain winning the toss is likely to field first as there has been a history of chasing at the venue.

Probable Playing XI

India (IND)

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar

South Africa (SA)

Reeza Hendricks, Matthew Breetzke, Aiden Markram (capt), Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Andile Phehlukwayo, Nandre Burger, Lizaad Williams, Tabraiz Shamsi, Ottniel Baartman