The fourth Twenty20 International between India and South Africa will take place on Friday night.
In the third encounter of the five-match T20I series, Team India fought back to beat the high-flying Proteas and maintain their hopes of winning the competition. The Rishabh Pant-led squad put up a total of 179/5 on the board before dismissing the Proteas for just 131. Harshal Patel (4/25) and Yuzvendra Chahal (3/20) stole the show with the ball in the first half of the match, while Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan, and Hardik Pandya batted admirably.
On Friday, India and Pakistan meet for the fourth T20I in Rajkot in an effort to level the series. However, the Proteas would be hoping to clinch the series in the process.
India’s fourth T20I against South Africa should feature the following line-up:
Southpaw Ishan Kishan is a force to be reckoned with in the current T20I series. He has scored 164 runs in the first three matches, making him the leading scorer. Kishan has scored two half-centuries thus far in the series.
Ruturaj Gaikwad: The batsman’s 57-off-35, which is also his first international fifty, has turned the tables in his favor after he scored 23 and 1 in the first two games.
In this series, the right-handed batter Shreyas Iyer has had some nice beginnings, but he hasn’t been able to extend his at-bats. Deepak Hooda’s presence on the bench might motivate Iyer to play better in the fourth Twenty20 International.
Stand-in skipper Pant has done well in the captaincy department, but he hasn’t done much to excite as a batter. During the last two matches, he has scored only in the single digits. He intends to make an effective contribution to the upcoming encounter.
As a batsman, Hardik Pandya has performed admirably in the lower order, but he has struggled as a bowler so far in this series. Hardik needs to make a significant contribution with the ball, given how South African batsmen have played so far in the series.
Dinesh Karthik: Karthik has been decent in the limited batting chances he has had so far in the series, following a stellar IPL 2022 season. Even if he’s in good form, the South African hitter needs more experience playing against top-tier competition before the 2022 T20 World Cup.
Axar Patel: The Indian team’s only left-arm spinner, Axar has had a poor series so far, but he is expected to play every game in the series. A half-century in four overs from him in the third T20I proved to be a good result.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Harshal Patel have been bolstered by Patel’s improved performance in the last two games. In the second and third T20Is, Harshal took 1/17 and 4/25, respectively.
After a shaky start (1/43 in four overs), Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked up four wickets in the second T20I and then bowled economically in the third game of the series. He and Harshal have both taken six wickets thus far in the series, making them the leading wicket-takers.
Arshdeep Singh: Avesh Khan could be dropped from India’s starting lineup if he has a bad game. Because of his pinpoint yorkers and impressive economy rate, Arshdeep Singh appears to be India’s best bet for the job right now.
As of the third match of the series, Yuzvendra Chahal is pitching well again after taking a battering in the first two games from South African bats. To go along with his three-for-twenty performance in the third T20I against South Africa, Leggie was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.
