Follow UsOnly four times in 23 series have India been on the losing end of a T20I series at home. India have been a dominant force at home and the last time, the Men in Blue lost at home, it was against Australia. But South Africa know this feeling of beating India at home and that too, in convincing fashion.
Even back then, the Proteas had stunned in the loud crowd at the Barabati Stadium. On Sunday, the Proteas juggernaut continued at the venue, leaving India to chase the series. A mighty 2-0 series lead, a sky-rocketing confidence, Temba Bavuma’s men would be aiming to seal what they started, snapping India’s winning streak at home.
But this is India in front of them. Last time India were put under the pump at home, against England, they emerged victorious, with a 3-2 win in the series. However, there is a big difference, India here face a lot of issues and are lacking on the resource side of things. Will India’s series kick-off in Vishakhapatnam?
Deepak Hooda – the need of the hour?
2022 has been quite a remarkable year for the 27-year-old Deepak Hooda. Out of nowhere, he was drafted into the Indian squad before making his debut across the white-ball formats. And, then the IPL happened, where he made a statement that was never really seen before from him. A season where he scored 451 runs, averaging 32.21, at a strike-rate of 136.67 with four half-centuries.
While he wasn’t overly required with the ball for the Super Giants, bowling just 24 balls, his role in the Indian team might be starkly different. Last two T20Is showed India reflected a report on their spin bowling. Neither Yuzvendra Chahal nor Axar Patel could make any sort of impact with the ball. It is yet to be seen if both of them would still take their place in the third T20I.
But if there is a logical change that could be made, India should bring in Hooda for Axar. A major reason for it being that India have hardly used the second-spin bowling option. Even Pant spoke on how the surface didn’t allow for the use of the secondary spinner.
Having Hooda instead would not only lengthen the batting unit but also would provide the differential factor – off-spin – something India was lacking in the first two encounters. Not just that, Hooda would also solve India’s worry in the middle-overs, where the Men in Blue just scored 62 runs, losing four wickets. That would also give the others the cushion to go all-out attacking.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar - the lone ranger
Bhuvneshwar Kumar tops the wickets chart for bowlers in the series from both sides, with five wickets. The next best – Anrich Nortje – with three wickets, shows how valuable the right-arm pacer has been for India. There were plenty of doubts on whether Bhuvneshwar would find a place in the Indian side after he was injured before the T20 World Cup in 2021.
As fate and hard work would have it, he not only finds a place but could also be the first name in this Indian setup. "We are aware that we didn't bowl well in the first match. So, we hope to improve, bowl well and level the series," Bhuvneshwar reflected after the loss in the first T20I.
And true to his words, the right-arm pacer did bowl more than well, picking up four wickets, conceding just 13 runs. India are far behind the others during the powerplay phase, with just 46 wickets in the first six overs, ranking ninth out of the top ten sides. Bhuvneshwar solves that worries, it is time for the others in the bowling unit to step up now.
The Klaasen boost for Proteas
South Africa’s lack of batters was definitely the topic of discussion during the first T20I after the toss. Aiden Markram testing COVID-19 positive definitely spurred the plans for the Proteas in their aim to double their series win in India. And things became worse in the second when Quinton de Kock was injured, leaving Heinrich Klaasen on double duty – both with the bat and the gloves. Behind the stumps, Klaasen put on a mistake-free show.
If you think he was done, he wasn’t. Klaasen saved the best for the night, when he walked out to bat. In a precarious situation of 29/3, the right-hander walked out to bat, with the match on the line. And when he walked back to the hut, at 144/5, the job was nearly done. Such was Klaasen’s impact on the game.
While we are still unsure on whether de Kock and Markram would return for the third T20I, South Africa’s batting has surely been boosted by Klaasen’s blade. Overall, he had a control % of 84.8, scoring a boundary every 3.83 deliveries. While he didn’t attack the pacers, he took the role of attacking the spinners head-on.
Against the Indian spinners, the right-hander smashed 48 runs in just three overs, with just 16.6 % dot-ball percentage.
Team Combination and Predicted XI
For India, there is a possibility of two changes, one with Deepak Hooda replacing Axar Patel. The other possible change could be Avesh Khan making way for a probable debut for the speedster Umran Malik
India XI: Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (c and wk), Hardik Pandya, Deepak Hooda/Axar Patel, Dinesh Karthik, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Avesh Khan/Umran Malik
On the other hand, if Quinton de Kock is fit, expect him to replace the right-hander Reeza Hendricks at the top of the order with no other changes in their setup.
South Africa XI: Temba Bavuma (c), Reeza Hendricks/Quinton de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Dwaine Pretorius, Wayne Parnell, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje