India vs South Africa, 3rd T20I: India Predicted Playing XI

So, after what turned out to be a one-sided encounter in Mohali, the caravan of the T20I series moves to the Garden city, Bengaluru. For India, while it will of-course be about looking at the fringe players, a win at the Chinnaswamy will give them their first-ever T20I series win against the Proteas at home.

South Africa, on the other hand, will be hoping for improved performance and skipper Quinton de Kock will hope his batters apart from Temba Bavuma rise to the challenge, something they were unable to do in the last match. So, what will be India’s playing XI for the 3rd T20I? Will KL Rahul get a look-in? Will Rahul Chahar slot in as a leg-spinner? What about Pant? Will he keep batting at No.4? Or will India finally promote Shreyas Iyer?

Here’s India’s predicted XI for the 3rd T20I:

Openers: Rohit Sharma & Shikhar Dhawan

Before the T20I series, there was a lot of talk about India needing to change their approach at the top of the order. Questions were being posed at India’s safety-first approach. Go for the full monty in the powerplay, they say! And, rightly so, to be honest. Considering that India is now looking to strengthen their lower-order by opting for defensive bowlers, primarily due to their ability to contribute with the bat, it makes sense for the top-order to play with a bit more freedom and make full use of the first six overs.

We saw a glimpse of it during the second T20I in Mohali where both the openers took the attack to Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje. Sharma stroked two beautiful sixes over square-leg before Andile Pheklukhwayo trapped him a leg-before wicket.

Shikhar Dhawan too looked his free-flowing self in Mohali and his innings was only halted courtesy of a brilliant one-handed catch from David Miller. But Dhawan knows he needs a big score under his belt. With KL Rahul breathing down his neck, the southpaw will hope he converts the 40-odd he got in the last game, to a substantial score at the Chinnaswamy.

Middle-order: Virat Kohli (C), Rishabh Pant (WK), Shreyas Iyer

Well! In case you have been under a rock, Virat Kohli strolled past another run-chase at Mohali. The Indian captain continued his love affair with the venue, churning out another chapter in the tutorial: How to go about a run-chase? And, again, the template was the same: Dab. One. Flick. Two, forcing the bowlers to bowl in his zone where he would nonchalantly flick them over square-leg or back away and loft them over wide long-on or cover drive the hell out of them.

Ask Rabada. Ask Nortje. Ask anyone for that matter. Kohli’s 52-ball-72* meant he is now the leading run-scorer in T20I cricket, and with the next game at his IPL home ground, one can expect him to add the umpteenth chapter to that tutorial. But, who bats after Kohli? Will India still persist with the misfiring Rishabh Pant at No.4 or will Shreyas Iyer finally get the promotion, he deserves?

The move to swap Pant with Iyer could be mutually beneficial. While it would give Iyer an opportunity to bat higher and showcase the talent that he has shown in ODI cricket and the IPL, the demotion of Pant at No.5 will give a necessary ammunition to go all-out at the backend of the innings with the quartet of Pandya brothers, Jadeja and Pant boasting of enough ability to push a seemingly par total to a match-winning one.

All-rounders: Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya & Ravindra Jadeja

Hardik Pandya made his return to international cricket after two months in Mohali. Understandably, the all-rounder looked a bit undercooked. The all-rounder went for 31 runs in his four overs and claimed a wicket of David Miller, and would be hoping for improved performance at Bengaluru.

It’s unusual, ain’t it? When was the last time you saw two left-arm off-spinners playing a white-ball game for India? But the form of both Krunal Pandya and Jadeja coupled by India’s latest penchant towards playing bowling all-rounders in place of specialists means the duo will get another opportunity to play in tandem, come the third T20I.

With the pitch at Chinnaswamy flat and ground small, the task would be herculean for the finger spinners to contain the batsmen. While Jadeja bowled four overs for 31 in the last game, Pandya was used for just one over by Kohli in Mohali.

Bowlers: Rahul Chahar, Navdeep Saini & Deepak Chahar

One possible change which India can look to make in their playing 11 is bringing in leg-spinner Rahul Chahar in place of Washington Sundar. Sundar, who has been pretty successful bowler for Kohli during the powerplay, did not have the best of the game against the Proteas. With India already having two finger spinners in their rank, it could be a prudent option to have a leg-spinner in their ranks on the small ground.

The fast bowling attack should once again be spearheaded by Deepak Chahar and Navdeep Saini. Saini, after taking an initial hammering by de Kock in the last game, came back well to dismiss the Proteas skipper. The right-hander will be playing his first T20I at his IPL home venue, come Sunday. The second spot for the fast bowler is a no-brainer. Deepak Chahar, courtesy another impressive performance in Mohali (2-22) walks into the side.