Kayomard IraniThe Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot brings us live action for the fourth T20 International between India and South Africa.
Well, it is safe to say Team India are back in form and they have regained the momentum just in time. A crucial victory in a do or die game in the third T20I against South Africa has given them the hope of taking the series to a decider if they win the next game in hand. They displayed an all round performance by putting up 180 runs on board for South Africa to chase courtesy of a maiden half century of 57 off 35 balls from Ruturaj Gaikwad and a 35 ball 54 from his opening partner Ishan Kishan. In the second Innings, the men in blue displayed a magnificent performance with the ball as they bowled out South Africa for just 131 runs, winning the game eventually by 48 runs. Team India will look to display a similar performance in Rajkot as they will be very well aware, a defeat will cost them the T20I series.
For South Africa, they will be looking to bounce back from the defeat they suffered in the 3rd T20I. After two great performances, they displayed a below average performance with the bat and ball. Anrich Nortje and Keshav Maharaj had a bad day at office proving costly with the ball. Rassie van der Dussen has failed to perform with the bat after his knock of 75 off 46 balls scoring just 2 runs in the next games. Overall, it can be safe to say after two great games with the bat the South African batsmen failed to perform which led to just 131 runs on the board thus losing the match by a margin of 48 runs. Temba Bavuma and Co will be looking to dust themselves up and focus on the next game as they require just one more victory to clinch the T20I series.
Match Details
Match: India vs South Africa, Friday , 17 June 2022
Venue: Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot
Time: 7:00 pm (IST)
Where to Watch: Star Sports Network | Disney+ Hotstar
Pitch Report
As the records stand, the Saurashtra Cricket stadium has proved to be a belter of wicket for the batsmen. With the firepower the teams possess, expect a high scoring game on the cards and plenty of boundaries. Unlike the previous two games, we expect the captain winning the toss to bat first.
Probable Playing XIs:
India
Ruturaj Gaikwad , Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant ( c & wk ), Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Umran Malik
Bench: Deepak Hooda,Venkatesh Iyer, R Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh
South Africa
Quintin de Kock , Temba Bavuma ( c ), Rassie van der Dussen, Heinrich Klassen, David Miller, Dwaine Pretorius, Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Rabada, Tabrais Shamsi, Anrich Nortje, Keshav Maharaj
Bench: Tristan Stubbs ,Marco Jansen, Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram, Lungi Ngidi
Head-to-Head
Matches Played: 18 | India:10| South Africa:8|
Previous 5 matches– India :2| South Africa:3|
Batter to watch out for
Ishan Kishan
Ishan Kishan has been the pick of the batsmen for the Indian in this series and is also the leading run scorer so far. He has scored 164 runs in 3 games at an average of 54.6 which undoubtedly gives justice to his performances. He scored brilliant 34 ball 54 in the previous game and took India to a great start alongside his opening partner Ruturaj Gaikwad. He is in fine form and will be looking to carry forward this momentum making him the batter to watch out for in Game 4.
Bowler to watch out for
Harshal Patel
One can safely say Harshal Patel dismantled the South African batting picking up 4 wickets in his 3.1 overs conceding 25 runs. He has picked up 6 wickets in the three games and will be looking to display yet another match winning performance in the next game to level the series for his team. Be sure to have him in your fantasy teams.
Fantasy XI
Heinrich Klassen, Shreyas Iyer ( vc ), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, David Miller, Dwaine Pretorious, Hardik Pandya ( c ),Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Keshav Maharaj.
Match Prediction
Team India and South Africa are set to lock horns yet again and both have to be at their very best. For South Africa they just need one more victory to clinch the series and a victory for Team India will lead to a series decider in Bengaluru. The men in blue were dominant in their previous game where they completely outplayed the South African team. With momentum on their side, we expect them to come up with yet another victory and level the series.
