After levelling the series 2-2 in Rajkot, Team India root another T20I series win at home when they take the field against South Africa on Sunday. The decider will be played at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru and the fans are eagerly waiting for the high-voltage clash.
India would be high in confidence, especially the way they returned into the series. After losing the first two games in Delhi and Cuttack, they bounced back with clinical victories in Vizag and Rajkot, bowling out the visitors on both occasions. Moreover, the 82-run in the penultimate fixture was India’s biggest win over the Proteas, in terms of margin of runs.
South Africa, on the other hand, lost momentum after a couple of victories in the beginning. A question looms over the fitness over the availability of Temba Bavuma and Marco Jansen as the duo got injured while batting on Friday. Since Aiden Markram is already out of the series, it might turn challenging for the visitors if Bavuma and Jansen have to miss out.
Ahead of the final face-off, former India opener Wasim Jaffer opined that the visitors would have been hurt mentally following the last two defeats. Speaking with ESPN Cricinfo, he said India will have the upper hand, given the margin of wins in the last two games.
“India will have the upper hand in Bangalore because both their wins have been on big margins. South Africa must be mentally hurt that they lost so easily after winning the first two matches. There are some injury concerns as well with Bavuma and perhaps Marco Jansen being injured, Aiden Markram has also gone so I feel India has the upper hand for this match,” said Jaffer.
Speaking of the changes to India’s playing XI, Jaffer opined that the think tank won’t tinker with the winning combination.
“We were expecting some changes after the first two losses but India didn’t make any change so I don’t think any change will happen when they have won two matches. If we have to throw a name in the hat, it could be Deepak Hooda for Shreyas Iyer because he batted at No. 3 in the IPL as well and was successful as well. But the pattern the Indian team is playing in, I think we will see more continuity,” Jaffer further said.
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