3rd T20 Predictions: India vs South Africa

The 3rd T20 match of the South Africa tour of India will to be played on Tuesday, 14th June 2022 at Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam.

India has lost both T20 matches played till now and are just one match away from losing the series.

India’s bowling was below par in the first match and the batting failed to deliver in the second match.

India’s T20 trend

India won 12 matches in a row before the start of this series.

However, they lost two matches in a row in this series.

In the last match, India scored just 148 runs in 20 overs which was never going to be enough.

Shreyas Iyer was the highest run-scorer with 40 runs in 35 balls.

Sadly, the bowling, with the exception of Bhuvneshwar Kumar was toothless.

Yuzvendra Chahal and Harshal Patel picked one wicket each while Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, and Hardik Pandya went wicketless.

South Africa’s current form

South Africa is not a fancied team like India but is winning matches due to individual brilliance.

They have a strong bowling attack in Kagiso Rabada, Wayne Parnell, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi, and Anrich Nortje.

Nortje was the most successful bowler in the previous match with two wickets for 36 runs.

Heinrich Klaasen was the unlikely hero for SA when he scored 81 runs in just 46 balls.

Temba Bavuma has been consistent and David Miller has performed the role of a finisher in both the matches, to perfection.

Team news

The biggest headache for India is that its big hitters – Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant and Ruturaj Gaikwad are not firing.

Shreyas Iyer is the only batter showing some consistency but he is conceding too many fot balls.

It’s likely that Venkatesh Iyer will come in for Ruturaj.

On the bowling front, Avesh Khan has not transferred his IPL form to international cricket.

Umran Malik is expected to replace Avesh.

Since this is a crunch match, South Africa may not make any changes in the winning squad.

YS Rajasekhara Reddy Stadium stats

Total matches played: 2
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
Highest score chased: 127/7 (20 Ov) by AUS vs IND

Pitch report

The pitch offers a lot of help to the bowlers, so we may not have a high-scoring game on the cards.

However, the stadium does possess small boundaries, which may result in a high number of sixes.

The team winning the toss is likely to bowl first.

Head to Head record

India had played 17 T20 matches against South Africa.

They have won 9 matches while South Africa had won 8 matches.

India Likely 11

Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Avesh Khan, Ishan Kishan.

South Africa Likely 11

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

Game-changers of the match

Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s form has been out of the world.

The pacer has played 60 games so far, picking up 59 wickets.

He bowled brilliantly in the second T20I by picking up four wickets for just 13 runs.

If Bhuvi hits his stride, India will fancy their chances in this match.

For South Africa, Rassie Van der Dussen and David Miller are at the peak of their powers.

Their confidence can easily rub off on the other players and elevate their performances too.

Who will win

The Indian team is too good to get beaten three times in a row.

However, Pant needs to make the correct decisions as captain.

Also, if Hardik Pandya can recover his IPL mojo, India can win the 3rd T20 match of the series.