IND vs SA: 3rd T20I PREVIEW

L L L L L L L - The men in blue's last 7 outings against the proteas this year and it appears as if the streak won't end anytime soon. SA are a strong t20i unit. They have won their last 13 out of the 14 t20is and are on the verge to win their 4th consecutive series win in the last 12 months. What makes this side even more dangerous is they played without 2 of their biggest match winners. In the past 12 months, Aiden Markram has scored 570 runs for SA at a SR of 148. He had a very good outing in t20 wc and was featured in ICC's team of the tournament. Markram is also a useful part time off spinner and does the job well in Powerplay. QDK was replaced by Klaasen and he replied with a match winning 81 which was the 4th highest individual score against India while chasing at home.

Spinners have been India's biggest weak link in the 2 games so far. Axar & Chahal have conceded 135 runs in 11 overs. Chahal who has been brilliant in the IPL over the years has failed to replicate his form in intls for 2 years now. He is averaging 46 with an economy over 9. India should look to bring in Arshdeep Singh who was brilliant in the death overs and had the best economy in that phase in IPL.

Probable XI

India

Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (c, wk), Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Bhuvnenshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh

South Africa

Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk)/Reeza Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Dwaine Pretorius, Heinrich Klaasen, Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi.

Venue

Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam

Total matches - 2
Matches won batting first - 0
Matches won bowling first - 2

Average 1st Inns scores - 104
Average 2nd Inns scores - 105

Highest total recorded - 127/7 (20 Ov) by AUS vs IND
Lowest total recorded - 82/10 (18 Ov) by SL vs IND

Head to Head

Overall: Ind leads by 9 - 8
Batting 1st:Ind leads by 6-2
Batting 2nd: SA leads by 6-3
Last 5 matches: SA leads by 4-1

Match ups

QDK v Chahal: 44/6 at 112 sr
QDK v Bhuvi: 57/1 at 101 sr

Miller v Chahal: 70/3 at 179 sr
Miller v Harshal: 74/0 at 175 sr
Miller v Bhuvi: 77/1 at 175 sr

Ishan v Rabada: 69/1 at 168 sr
Ishan v Nortje: 76/1 at 211 sr

Iyer v Shamsi: 56/0 at 200 sr
Hardik v Rabada: 60/2 at 150 sr
Ruturaj v Nortje: 51/2 at 170 sr
DK v Rabada: 18/3 at 73 sr

Form Update

(last 5 innings )

Key Players & Fantasy picks:

Ishan Kishan: He has the most runs for an Indian opener in first ten t20i innings (375) and scored over 70 runs against Nortje in the format with over 200 SR. So far he has shown a good intent in both the games compared to the underwhelming IPL season he had.

Hardik Pandya : India's best all rounder had an outing to forget last year in IPL. Due to Injuries, Hardik had not been bowling and subsequently lost his place in the national side for these 2 reasons. This IPL was a great opportunity for him to win the trust back of the selectors and make a strong statement ahead of the t20 wc. He led from the front both with the bat and the ball in this season. He is the 4th highest run scorer in this season with 487 runs and has most 30+ scores ( 8). Did a brilliant job with the ball in the final and in few league games in Powerplay phase. In 1st t20i, he scored 31(12)* coming into bat in the 17th over. This is the 3rd time he has scored over 30 at more than 250 SR in t20is.

David Miller: Miller was doing his job for the proteas in white ball cricket but wasn't able to translate his potential in the IPL since few seasons. It can be also attributed to the lack of fixed place in the 11 and a defined role. Here at GT, he had both and it reflected in his performance. He scored 481 runs at a SR of 142 and took GT over the finishing lines in so many games along with Tewatia and Rashid from crunch situations. He continued from where he left in the IPL and remained not out for the 3rd consecutive time in a run chase.

Prediction: Winners - SA

Fantasy XI