T20 World Cup 2022: Match 30 - Predicted India Playing XI vs South Africa

India will be locking horns with an in-form South Africa in their ICC T20 World Cup 2022 Super 12 encounter at the Perth Stadium on Sunday, October 30. India are currently the table-toppers having won both their opening games against arch-rivals and the Netherlands and a victory here would bring them a step closer to consolidating a semis berth. 

However, the Men in Blue need to bring their A-game against a top-quality Proteas side who would be heading into this contest on the back of a comprehensive 104-run victory against Bangladesh a few days ago. This match will be played on a fast and bouncy Perth surface and the South Africans have got Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada who can trouble the famed Indian batters with their bowling.

As India look to register a third straight win under their belt, they would be mostly fielding the same XI and not look to make any changes to their side.

Here's India's Probable Playing XI against South Africa:

Openers: KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma (c)

KL Rahul desperately needs to rediscover his lost mojo on the 22 yards as he has put early pressure on the Indian batting with his disappointing performances against Pakistan and the Netherlands registering scores of four and nine runs respectively. India need him to come out all guns blazing against South Africa.

Rohit Sharma on the other hand scored only four runs against arch-rivals Pakistan, but roared back to form with an impressive half-century against the Dutch as he scored 53 runs off 39 deliveries. The 'Hitman' would be expected to negotiate the pace and bounce at Perth early on from the likes of Nortje and Rabada. 

Middle-Order: Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, and, Dinesh Karthik (wk)

Virat Kohli is yet to be dismissed in this tournament and has so far registered scores of 82 and 62*. Both his half-centuries have ended up as match-winning knocks and the Proteas bowlers must beware of the Kohli threat if they are to cause any damage to the Indian batting lineup. 

Suryakumar Yadav might have got out early against Pakistan at the MCG, but he rediscovered his rhythm with the bat in the last game against the Netherlands where he scored a match-winning 51 not out off 25 balls. This knock not only helped India in registering a comfortable 56-run win, but also helped Yadav bag the Player of the Match award.

Dinesh Karthik is yet to showcase his finishing abilities in the ongoing tournament and he would be eyeing an impactful knock against the Proteas this weekend.

All-Rounders: Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel

Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 40 runs and was involved in that crucial 113-run stand with Virat Kohli against Pakistan. He also registered outstanding figures of 3/30 in that contest. Pandya would be hoping to showcase an impressive performances against the Proteas.

Axar Patel on the other hand went wicketless and bowled an expensive spell against Pakistan. He was then run out for just two in the second innings after being promoted as a pinch-hitter. Axar was brilliant against the Netherlands finishing with 2/18 from his four overs at an economy of 4.5.

Bowlers: Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Arshdeep Singh, and, Mohammed Shami

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been impressive in this T20 World Cup so far. Not only did he perform well against Pakistan, but also decimated the Dutch batting lineup with match-winning figures of 2/9 from his three overs at an economy of three including two maidens. 

Ravichandran Ashwin was also very economical against the Netherlands as he finished with figures of 2/21 from his four overs at an economy rate of 5.3. 

Arshdeep Singh has been picking up crucial wickets, but he has been expensive at the death in the last two games and that is something the left-arm pacer needs to work on in the important clash against South Africa.

Senior pacer Mohammed Shami also kept things tight in the last game as he took the wicket of Tim Pringle conceding just 27 runs from his quota of four overs at an economy of 6.8.

India predicted XI against South Africa

KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami

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