India and South Africa will clash in the third and final T20I of the three-match series at Cape Town. The series currently stands at 1-1, after South Africa staged a marvelous comeback in the Centurion game, thanks to Klaasen and Duminy.
However, much of that can be attributed to the rain which made the ball wet and difficult for Chahal to grip and he went for 64 runs in 4 overs. India also missed Bumrah and Kuldeep in the Centurion T20I, due to Kuldeep’s thumb injury and Bumrah’s stiffness.
In the last and final T20I match, India will be looking to bring in both Bumrah and Kuldeep in for Jaydev Unadkat and Shardul Thakur. Unadkat looked out of sorts in the second T20I and Thakur did nothing wrong but will have to make way for Kuldeep in the team.
The only concern for India is the form of Rohit Sharma, who looked good for 9 balls in the first T20I, but couldn’t hold the fort for more than a ball in Centurion, as the ball was moving and swinging. Shikhar Dhawan has been wonderful for India, while Kohli has looked a bit out of sorts after such a long tour of South Africa.
India will also be expecting more from designated all-rounder Hardik Pandya. Pandya performed in just one Test and one ODI, doing nothing of value in any T20I match. Suresh Raina’s time with Indian team has been pretty decent till now and he will wait for more opportunities.
Manish Pandey showed his real worth in the second T20I and MS Dhoni must have silenced his critics to some level. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah should work well in tandem to end their South African tour with another trophy. Kuldeep and Chahal, on the other hand, will hope for no rain in this match.
COC Predicted Indian XI for 3rd T20I:
Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (C), Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni (WK), Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah
