On Wednesday, December 13, South Africa and India will play their third and final Twenty20 international match at Johannesburg’s Wanderers Stadium. The second T20I proved to be quite important after the previous one was swept. After winning the toss, Aiden Makram chose to bowl first. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill, who were the first players to be ejected by the visitors before they could pose a threat to the scoring, gave the team a terrible start. Despite having more experience than players like Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma was chosen for the playing XI. Despite having a strong start, the southpaw was unable to build on it.
Suryakumar Yadav, the skipper of India and the top-ranked T20I batsman, put together an impressive 70 runs off of 48 balls for the fourth wicket. After the veteran was out for a 36-ball 56, it fell to Rinku to lead India to a significant victory. The little batsman had an impressive performance, hitting an undefeated 68 off just 39 balls. In the latter stages, India lost a few wickets quickly. Play was halted by rain in 19.3 overs, with them at 180/7. The Proteas’ two best bowlers were Gerald Coetzee (3/32) and Tabraiz Shamsi (1/18).
The hosts were given a revised goal of 152 runs in 15 overs following the rain break. The Indian bowlers found it difficult to contain the top order of South Africa. After a commanding 30-ball partnership of 54 runs between Reeza Hendricks and Markram, Tristan Stubbs and Andile Phehlukwayo completed the picture. The Indian bowlers had a tough time holding the ball since it was getting wet every time it was struck down the ground, making circumstances difficult for them. Using the DLS technique, South Africa ultimately prevailed by five wickets with seven balls remaining. India’s chances of winning the series are now slim. They can only tie the series at one game remaining.
Pitch report for Wanderers Stadium
One of the Rainbow Nation’s most batter-friendly stadiums is The Wanderers. In T20Is, the average score after one inning is 173. At this location, the West Indies achieved the most successful chase, scoring 236/6 in 19.2 overs against South Africa. Teams trailing have won 17 games, while teams batting first have won 15. The good news is that there is no probability of rain in Johannesburg on match day, according to AccuWeather.
Most Likely Starting XI
South Africa
Gerald Coetzee and Marco Jansen were only chosen for the first two games of the tournament; they are projected to quit the team, forcing South Africa to rely more heavily on their fast bowling resources. Uncapped pacers: Ottniel Baartman and Nandre Burger may take their spot. But if the hosts follow this path, the batting lineup would appear very thin because Jansen is a highly valuable batsman at No. 7. The home team may choose to replace Coetzee with one of Burger and Baartman’s players and bring in the explosive Donovan Ferreira to fill his absence. In this scenario, Markram will need to bowl four overs.
Predicted starting lineup: David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Andile Phehlukwayo, Nandre Burger, Ottniel Baartman, Lizaad Williams, Tabraiz Shamsi, Aiden Markram (C), Matthew Breetzke, Reeza Hendricks, and Heinrich Klaasen (WK).
India
In terms of selection for the second Twenty20 International, India took a few risks. They selected Tilak instead of the more seasoned Shreyas Iyer, who earlier this month hit fifty runs in India’s final Twenty20 International match against Australia. Additionally, they did not include Ravi Bishnoi in the starting XI. Bishnoi was the Player of the Series winner in the most recent T20I series against Australia. If they are re-added to the squad for the game that matters most, it will be intriguing to see.
Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Rinku Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, and Mukesh Kumar are the predicted starting eleven.
T20Is Head-to-Head Records between South Africa and India:
Matches Played | 26 |
India won | 13 |
South Africa won | 11 |
NR | 2 |
First Meeting | 1 December, 2006 |
Last Meeting | 12 December, 2023 |
SA vs IND 3rd T20I Broadcast details:
Date | Thursday, December 14 |
Timing | 08:30 PM (IST) |
Live Streaming | Disney+Hotstar |
Live Broadcast | Star Sports Network |