New-look India host South Africa in key series ahead of T20 World Cup
Wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant will take charge of an India side missing veteran quartet Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah and still searching for the best balance ahead of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in Australia later this year.
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Both Ishan Kishan or Ruturaj Gaikwad are likely to be given the chance at the top of the India batting order, while in-form duo Dinesh Karthik and Hardik Pandya will be handed every opportunity to prove they belong in usually strong middle-order.
Opportunity knocks also for India's bowling stocks, with untapped quick Umran Malik a chance to earn a debut during this series just to see whether he is ready for the rigours of the international game.
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South Africa seemingly have a more settled line-up at their disposal, with experienced right-hander Temba Bavuma leading a talented side that is currently ranked fourth on the Men's T20I Team Rankings.
Veteran left-armer Wayne Parnell returns to bolster a strong South Africa bowling division that will be led by Kagiso Rabada, while Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram and David Miller will be expected to help Bavuma out at the top of the batting order.
Remember the last time
You have to go back to September in 2019 to find the last time these two teams played each other in 20-over cricket and the three-game series ended tied at 1-1 on that occasion.
After the opening match was abandoned without a delivery bowled, India struck first when Virat Kohli's unbeaten 72 helped the hosts cruise to a seven-wicket victory in Mohali.
It was a different story in the third and final game of the series, with Quinton de Kock scoring a stylish 79 in Bengaluru to guide South Africa to a nine-wicket victory.
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What they said
India coach Rahul Dravid: "We have a slightly different top three in this particular series, but any top three that plays, what we're looking for is good positive starts, and playing what the situation and that wicket demands. If it's a high-scoring game, obviously you want your people to be able to maintain that level of strike rate."
South Africa captain Temba Bavuma: "For the younger guys, it will be important how they receive the knowledge that the seniors share. But, the way we have played slow bowling over the last 18 months or so, as a group, it gives us a lot of confidence and self-belief that we can dominate spin bowling this time (in India)."
Squads
India: Rishabh Pant, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik
South Africa: Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs, Rassie van der Dussen, Marco Jansen