Six years after their previous T20I at Centurion, Suryakumar Yadav-led new look side hope to hit top form with blade v SA today despite alien conditions
India players walk off the pitch after their loss to South Africa in the second T20I at St Georges Park in Gqeberha on Sunday. Pic/AFP
Indian batting line-up needs to get its mojo back against a resurgent South Africa to regain the lost ground on rather unfamiliar SuperSport Park conditions when the two teams clash in the third T20I here on Wednesday.
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Experienced Pandya
Since 2009, India have played only one T20I at this venue, which they lost by six wickets in 2018 and have only one survivor from that squad in this side — Hardik Pandya. Along with that unfamiliarity factor, India will also grapple with the ordinary form of their batters, particularly when the pitch here is touted to be similar to the one at Gqeberha — quick and bouncy.
In the second T20I, India batters struggled against the South Africa pacers upfront, getting restricted to 124 for six, and Centurion has similar characteristics.
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The problem starts from the top — more precisely with Abhishek Sharma, whose extended lean run with the bat has now snowballed into a serious concern. He is in desperate need of a good outing here before the management thinks of juggling the combination.
Options in Tilak, Ramandeep
Even now, they can think of giving the job of partnering Sanju Samson at the top to Tilak Varma and bring in Ramandeep Singh in the middle to add more muscle to the unit.
However, the senior batters like skipper Suryakumar Yadav, Pandya and Rinku Singh too cannot absolve themselves of the blame entirely for India’s struggles.
Both Suryakumar and Rinku have shown only fleeting images of their prowess here while Pandya made 39 in the second match but he consumed 45 balls for it. In fact, the power-hitter took 28 balls to find his first boundary.
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