South Africa-India tussle set for thrilling finale
Overview
South Africa v India
Newlands, Cape Town
3rd T20I
Saturday 24 February; 18:00 local, 16:00 GMT
It seems only fitting that India’s two-month tour of South Africa, which has already offered fans of both sides so much to cheer about, has the teams coming into the last match with so much to play for. South Africa took the Test series 2-1, India dominated the one-day internationals 5-1, and now, the Twenty20 International series is keenly balanced at 1-1 ahead of the final match of the tour in Cape Town on Saturday, 24 February.
India carried their winning momentum from the ODIs into the opening T20I, posting 203/5 and then keeping the home side to 175/9 with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who had been so impressive in the Tests, coming good with a five-wicket haul. South Africa then struck back, with Heinrich Klaasen and JP Duminy making timely half-centuries, in the face of rain and scorecard pressure, to chase down 188/4 with six wickets and eight balls to spare.
In the absence of many of the regulars, it was up to Duminy to take responsibility, and the captain will be more pleased than anybody else that he’s been able to step up.
Klaasen has been a revelation, proving with his 30-ball 69 that his heroics in the Pink Day ODI weren’t an aberration. His fearless strokeplay and switch-hits upset the bowlers’ rhythms and he gelled well with a captain who, even as DLS loomed, encouraged him to break down the chase into small targets.
The lack of runs for David Miller and opener JJ Smuts will be a concern, but with Reeza Hendricks and Farhaan Behardien in decent touch, and Junior Dala getting his international career off to a good start with the ball, South Africa have enough reason to back themselves in the final game.
However, they cannot count on getting any favours from India. Virat Kohli’s men, led by the captain himself, have never let their intensity drop, even on a long and challenging tour.
While the captain, who dominated in the ODIs, has been short of runs in the shortest format, the middle order led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni has played positive cricket, while Shikhar Dhawan has been providing good starts.
India’s wrist-spinners were instrumental in their success in the ODIs before the pacers came into play in the T20Is. But the drizzle at SuperSport Park made life difficult for all of them, and they, Yuzvendra Chahal first among them, will be keen to atone for all the runs leaked in the second game.
Key players
Heinrich Klaasen (South Africa): Klassen came in as a replacement for Quinton de Kock and, in his own words, has fulfilled a dream. He has played two match-winning knocks in the limited-overs games so far. He has enjoyed executing audacious shots in pressure situations, but most important has been his ability to render leg-spin ineffective.
Yuzvendra Chahal (India): The wrist-spinner had an off day in Centurion, going for 64 in his four overs, after taking 1/39 in Johannesburg. But having picked up 16 wickets in six matches in the ODIs, he should still be high on confidence and considering his ability to fox batsmen, he should bounce back strongly.
Conditions
A cloudy day is forecast in Cape Town, with showers in the morning, although it is expected to clear up in the evening. The moisture could prove to be tricky for the bowlers again.
Squads South Africa: JP Duminy (capt), Farhaan Behardien, Junior Dala, Reeza Hendricks, Christiaan Jonker, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Chris Morris, Dane Paterson, Aaron Phangiso, Andile Phehlukwayo, Tabraiz Shamsi, JJ Smuts.
India: Virat Kohli (capt), Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shikhar Dhawan, MS Dhoni (wk), Dinesh Karthik, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat.
