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Big picture
The series has moved from the east of the country to the west but India’s situation remains the same: they have to win the next match to stay alive.
They’ve been buoyed by their biggest T20I win over South Africa on Tuesday, which could have been even bigger had their middle order not fallen away. Despite that, India will be pleased with the performance of their opening pair, who shared in their highest first-wicket stand against South Africa, and their attack, who challenged South Africa for the first time in the series.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, in particular, has been outstanding up front, moving the ball both ways and causing problems for a struggling South African opening pair. They’ve managed stands of 22, 5 and 23 and will want to be able to get off to better starts as South Africa fine-tune their batting combination. Their middle-order batters have made up for what the top two have lacked but will be disappointed with their lack of fight, and especially the hold Yuzvendra Chahal had over them in Visakhapatnam, where India’s spinners had their first real say of the series. South Africa’s have yet to do the same.
Form guide
India WLLWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
South Africa LWWWW
In the spotlight
Team news
India have used the same combination in all three matches so far, and it worked for them in the third match. They’re unlikely to tinker with a winning formula, which could mean a longer wait for Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh to make their debuts.
India (possible): 1 Ishan Kishan, 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 3 Shreyas Iyer, 4 Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Dinesh Karthik, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Harshal Patel, 9 Avesh Khan, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal.
South Africa (possible): 1 Quinton de Kock/Reeza Hendricks, 2 Temba Bavuma (capt), 3 Rassie van der Dussen, 4 David Miller, 5 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 6 Dwaine Pretorius, 7 Wayne Parnell, 8 Kagiso Rabada, 9 Keshav Maharaj, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Tabraiz Shamsi.
Pitch and conditions
Stats and trivia
- South Africa have outdone India significantly in the 11th-16th-over phase during this series, scoring at 11.00 per over while restricting the hosts to a run rate of 7.72 in the same phase. South Africa have only lost three wickets in this phase through the series, while India have lost six.
- But South Africa have struggled in the powerplay, losing six wickets across the three matches while only going at a run rate of 7.11. India have done a lot better, going at 8.33 while losing just the one wicket.
Quotes
“We’re not expecting things to happen. We know we have to play well, and that’s what we did in the first two games. I don’t think you guys were thinking we were going to come here and win the series 5-0 just because all the big-name players aren’t here. That’s a good Indian team. I’d be foolish to change our approach after one loss.”
Temba Bavuma says South Africa were always expecting things to get tough
“Weather plays a big role in how a pitch plays. So we will assess the pitch and conditions tomorrow and see what the par score could be. If we are defending, we will have an idea, having batted first, which areas to bowl at.”
Harshal Patel says India will play it by the ear in what is a must-win game for them
Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo’s South Africa correspondent