Match Preview – India vs South Africa, South Africa in India 2022, 5th T20I

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If we needed an ad for a five-match bilateral T20I series and one on the back of a 74-match IPL, this is it.

Blocked at 2-2, this series has had South Africa’s highest successful chase and their lowest T20I total; India’s biggest win over South Africa, best career for six players, comeback for a veteran who was part of India’s first-ever T20I in 2006. that spider has only had a small say, but that’s just being picky.

We saw the hosts go down 2-0 with a middle order that looked like they couldn’t pull it off, then come back to win their last two, must-win games with finishers dominating a much vaunted visiting attack. India has the momentum, but South Africa has reason to snatch it away. South Africa entered this series after a very successful T20I run, having won 11 of their last 12 games. They found unlikely heroes and continued to do so in the first two games, underscoring that their teamwork is not a galaxy of superstars. Inevitably, some have emerged in this series.

The biggest is, of course, Dinesh Karthik, who has played cricket throughout the T20I era and developed his game to suit the evolution of the format. He has become a finisher and may be looking to the T20 World Cup to get his actual finish. Then there’s Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who dictates the opening passage of the game as if it were his script to write, and Hardik Pandya, who should definitely be lining up to lead India soon. Ishan Kishan has also impressed.

For South Africa, Rassie van der Dussen and Heinrich Klaasen won the first two matches, despite few considering them T20I match winners, and they have found room for two all-rounders and two specialist spinners in an XI. Their team composition shows signs of the creativity it once lacked, and their T20 approach has become more innovative. But their frontline bowlers were missing and that may be where the series can be won or lost. People like Kagiso Rabada, who shone in the IPL, and Anrich Nortje, who is coming back from injury, might want to have their say. Or they might not get there because the weather in Bengaluru doesn’t seem to be cooperating, and if the series stays tied at 2-2, that’s not too bad either.

Shape guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)

India WWLLW

South Africa LLWWW

In the spotlight

Dinesh Karthik may have already enjoyed his fairytale return to Rajkot, but now he returns to his adopted home after an exceptional IPL run and an international comeback dreams dream of. He is now getting the support of the home crowd to bring this series to a close. They will want to see the Karthik who hit 19 fours and 19 sixes with a 220 on death pass rate in this year’s IPL, not the Karthik who averages 14.40 for RCB on the Chinnaswamy and he won’t want to let them down. Even when he’s not making big runs, Karthik plays with the freedom of a player who gets a second chance he didn’t expect, and he makes the most of it. That warm, fuzzy feeling is sure to catch on.

A South African side that no longer relies on superstars appears to have dimmed its brightness from Quinton de Kock , who hasn’t scored a half-century of T20I in six innings since last year’s T20 World Cup. In this series, De Kock missed two games with injury and was eliminated after a substitution with Dwaine Pretorius in the previous game, so he hasn’t had as much of a chance to impress as he would have liked. But South Africa needs him if they want a better, faster start. Their other lead-off hitters, Temba Bavuma and Reeza Hendricks, both need some time to settle down and are more concerned with switching shots than hitting the limits, making De Kock’s role even more important.

Team news

India has remained unchanged throughout this series. Unless they want to unleash Umran Malik in the final, there would be no reason to change that. It would be hard to leave out the current navigators, so we may all have to wait to see the speedster in another series.

india: (possibly) 1 Ishan Kishan, 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 3 Shreyas Iyer, 4 Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Dinesh Karthik, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Harshal Patel, 9 Avesh Khan, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11 Yuzvendra chahal

South Africa’s most pressing problem is captain Temba Bavuma, who has to withdraw injured Friday night after injuring his left elbow. Bavuma did the damage while diving to complete a single, but had hit that upper arm a few balls earlier. By Saturday afternoon, they had yet to test whether he could comfortably hold the bat or generate power and probably make a late decision on his availability. If he is unable to play, Reeza Hendricks will fall in first place along with Keshav Maharaj to take over the captaincy.

South Africa: (possibly) 1 and 2 Quinton de Kock/Reeza Hendricks/Temba Bavuma (capt), 3 Rassie van der Dussen, 4 David Miller, 5 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 6 Dwaine Pretorius, 7 Marco Jansen/Wayne Parnell, 8 Kagiso Rabada , 9 Keshav Maharaj, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Lungi Ngidi/Tabraiz Shamsi

Location and conditions

The Chinnaswamy is known as a belter, thanks to small boundaries and a flat field, the Chinnaswamy has not held a single cricket cricket since before the pandemic, when it was known as a venue that produces runs and is unfriendly to spinners. But for that to happen, the players must enter the park. It was a wet build-up to the game, with heavy rain on Friday evening and drizzle throughout Saturday, affecting the semi-final of the Ranji Trophy at other venues in the same city. There is a 70% chance of rain on match day.

Statistics and trivia

  • The average first innings score in T20Is in the Chinnaswamy is 155. In the 2019 season, the average first innings score over completed IPL games is close – 154.

  • India and South Africa played the last T20I at this ground, in 2019, and South Africa successfully chased 135. Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma were unbeaten at the end.

  • Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the standout bowler of the series, especially upfront. In the power play, he has so far thrown 54 in the four matches, conceding 32 runs and taking four wickets at a 3.55 frugality.

    • Quotes

    “Maybe it’s a lack of adaptability the day we have to go back and address it. Obviously it’s a big game on Sunday for the series, and we need to be a bit more proactive than reactive in this kind of thing.” situations.”

    Keshav Maharaj hopes South Africa can learn to adjust game plans as decision is made

    Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo’s South African correspondent

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