Ind vs SA, 2nd T20 | Team India grapple with Bumrah riddle as it chases rare series win vs South Africa
IND vs SA T20, 2nd T20, Live Score, Live Stream, ODI, T20 Schedule, India ODI Squad, Scorecard, Live, Schedule T20 2022, Tickets Delhi, Venue, Live Score, Live Telecast Channel In India
IND vs SA: Tickets For India vs South Africa 2nd T20I Match At Guwahati ‘Sold Out’
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Just a little something for the fans here in Thiruvananthapuram courtesy Captain Rohit Sharma 😊😊
#TeamIndia | #INDvSA
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It may be uneven after Jasprit Bumrah’s unexpected injury, but the Indian team will look to continue their winning run and complete a rare home series win against South Africa when the two teams meet in the second T20 International in Guwahati on Sunday.
From the calm of Thiruvananthapuram, the atmosphere of Team India suddenly takes on a chaotic look – much like the traffic in Guwahati, thrown out of gear amid the rush of Durga Puja and flyover construction.
Bumrah was expected to play a key role in the Indian team’s campaign in Australian conditions, but his “stress fracture” has ruled him out of the ICC’s flagship tournament, which begins in three weeks.
The ongoing series was initially planned as a final tune-up for Rahul Dravid’s side, but Bumrah’s absence from the remaining two T20Is has now raised more questions than answers.
Umesh Yadav and Mohammad Siraj have been added to the squad as injury replacements but are yet to feature in the World Cup squad.
Also read | Siraj, Umran is about to travel to Perth for T20 World Cup preparation
The burning question is whether the two remaining T20Is will give the team management room to test Bumrah’s replacement.
Veteran Mohammad Shami, who is in the World Cup squad as a midfielder, is not there for the South Africa series.
Shami has recovered from COVID-19 and has a better chance of making it to Australia thanks to his experience Down Under.
If that’s the case, he could end up with little playing time ahead of their World Cup warm-up against the reigning champions on October 16.
For the SA series, the team has Deepak Chahar fit again, who also figures to be on call for the World Cup.
Chahar (4-0-24-2) looked very brave as he along with young left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh (4-0-32-3) reduced the Proteas to 9/5 inside strength at the Greenfield track. India took a 1-0 lead.
But swing will be out of the equation in the conditions Down Under and Chahar is more in the form of Bhuvenshwar Kumar, who is in the World Cup XI along with Arshdeep.
Siraj, on the other hand, has struggled recently and inspired very little confidence.
It is an entirely different debate that Bhuvneshwar, who has little experience – three T20Is – has started leaking runs in Australia and no longer holds the ace as seen in their elimination from the Asia Cup last month.
Ditto for Harshal Patel at the World Cup, as it remains to be seen how the think tank manages to put the puzzle together.
They have overcome bigger hurdles in the past, such as winning back-to-back series in Australia in 2020-21 with their fifth- or sixth-choice bowlers.
The Axar effect
Fortunately, that’s not the case in the spin department.
Axar Patel was a revelation after Ravindra Jadeja finally cemented his place after knee surgery. Patel, a similar replacement for India’s ace all-rounder, is struggling to find a place and has ticked all the boxes.
He was the top-scorer – eight wickets at an average of 7.87 – in India’s 2-1 win over the T20I world champions in their last series here.
And against South Africa too, he was at his miserable best – 16/1 – bowling in the middle order along with Ravichandran Ashwin as it’s a department that looks lined up.
For someone with a career 136-plus from 30 T20Is, it is his batting that inspires confidence in skipper Rohit Sharma: “I would like to see him bat too.”
But India will head to Australia with their stellar batting that will instill a lot of confidence. The top four, including their star batsman Virat Kohli, are looking in their zone.
That KL Rahul also got back among the runs with a slow but steady fifty in the first T20I was a big confidence booster.
It’s just that their middle order like Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik seem to be lacking game time.
Pant, who is likely to be the X-factor in Australia, has had no batting opportunities at all since returning from the Asia Cup where he had a mixed campaign.
Karthik, India’s designated finisher, on the other hand, has faced nine balls in the last seven matches as getting them higher would not be a bad trick.
Elusive series win in sight
From a series perspective, India will be looking for their first ever win over the Proteas in the home format and a win will seal it. It’s another thing that it would have little meaning on a larger scale.
It’s no secret that they have struggled at world tournaments and the 2007 champions, who last reached the semi-finals in 2016, will be hoping to avoid a repeat in 2021 in the UAE when they failed to make the cut.
South Africa’s bowling, which boasts the likes of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje, lacked sting after the duo dismissed Rohit and Kohli cheaply.
Bavuma would be hoping that they put up a much improved show and also the coin toss will come in his favor to test the Indian batting up front.
Teams:
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar , Umesh Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Shahbaz Ahmed and Mohammad Siraj.
South Africa: Temba Bavuma (capt), Quinton de Kock (week), Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, D Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs.
The match starts at 19:00. IST.
