Team India will lock horns against South Africa in a five-match T20I series starting June 9. The first match of the T20I series is going to be played in Delhi. The all-format players of the Indian team Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah have been rested for this T20I series. Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh got their maiden call up for the Indian T20I team.
It’s going to be an exciting T20I series with lots of quality players in action. Dinesh Karthik and Hardik Pandya are making their comeback in the Indian T20I team. South African players set the IPL 2022 on fire with their performances. Quinton De Kock, Kagiso Rabada and David Miller were the top 3 performers from SA in IPL 2022.
T5 mini battles to watch out for in this upcoming IND vs SA T20I series :
5) David Miller vs Harshal Patel
David Miller is the designated finisher for the South African T20I team. He has finished several matches for South Africa with his amazing hitting. David Miller was in amazing form in the 2022 season of the Indian Premier League. He scored 481 runs in IPL 2022 at an average of 68 and a strike rate of 142.
He would be up against Harshal Patel who performs the role of specialist death bowler for the Indian team. Harshal too is a smart bowler and he was in brilliant form in IPL 2022. It would be an interesting battle between the both in death overs. David Miller has scored 59 runs against Harshal Patel at a strike rate of 168 in IPL.
4) Rishabh Pant vs Keshav Maharaj
Rishabh Pant has the capability to attack any Spinner in middle overs. Pant has been given the role of attacking spinners in middle overs and keep the momentum going. In the recent IPL season, Pant had a strike rate of 150 plus against Spinners. He would fancy taking his chances against Keshav Maharaj.
But Keshav Maharaj too is a smart spinner who bowls economical spells. Keshav has an economy rate of less than 6 in International T20I. He did great for South Africa in the T20 WC 2021. Rishabh Pant would look to attack Maharaj because it’s his favourable matchup being a left-hander.
3) KL Rahul vs Kagiso Rabada
KL Rahul has been the top run-scorer in the Indian Premier League since 2019. However, Rahul hasn’t been in good form for India in T20I in the last 1.5 years. Kagiso Rabada would be a big challenge for Rahul in the upcoming T20I series against South Africa.
Rabada is the top Wicket taker in IPL since 2019. He has a habit of taking wickets of the best batsman of the opposition team. It would be an exciting battle between both of them, especially in the powerplay. So far, Rahul has scored 28 runs against Rabada at a strike rate of 112 in IPL. Rabada has also dismissed Rahul on two occasions.
2) Dinesh Karthik vs Dwaine Pretorius
Dinesh Karthik is making his comeback to the Indian T20I team after having an amazing campaign in IPL 2022. Dinesh Karthik scored 330 runs in IPL 2022 at an amazing average of 55 and impactful strike rate of 183. He finished several impossible matches for RCB this season.
Dinesh Karthik would be up against Dwaine Pretorius in the death overs in the upcoming T20I series. Pretorius is the specialist death bowler of South Africa. He did great for SA in T20WC. Dinesh scored 20 runs at a strike rate of 200 against Pretorius in the recent IPL season. It would be a battle that would be crucial in deciding the fate of the game in the end overs.
1) Ishan Kishan vs Anrich Nortje
Anrich Nortje is one of the quickest pacers in the world currently. He has bullied several Indian players with his express pace. But Ishan Kishan loves playing express pace bowlers. He has brilliant records against Anrich Nortje in the Indian Premier League. But Nortje too is a smart bowler and he would look to exploit the weakness of Ishan.
Ishan would like to provide quick starts to the Indian team in the powerplay. Ishan Kishan has completely dominated Anrich Nortje in the Indian Premier League. Kishan has scored 51 runs at a strike rate of 231 against Nortje in IPL without getting out. It’s going to be an interesting battle between both of them.
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