Beaten in a rain-hit second T20I on Tuesday, India will look to level the three-match series as they take on South Africa in the third and final T20I at The Wanderers in Johannesburg. With KL Rahul set to take over the captaincy for the upcoming ODIs, Suryakumar Yadav will hope to bow out with a win. The focus will be on the Indian pacers after a difficult outing in Gqeberha. India are likely to make changes to their playing XI for the do-or-die contest. Shreyas Iyer and Ruturaj Gaikwad could return to with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tilak Varma likely to sit out.
Here is what we think could be India’s playing XI vs South Africa in the 3rd T20I –
Shubman Gill: Coming into the team after a break following the World Cup, Shubman Gill was dismissed for a duck in the last match. However, he is likely to keep his place in the team.
Ruturaj Gaikwad: Having missed the last game due to illness, the in-form batter is likely to return to the XI. Just like Gill, Jaiswal was dismissed for a duck in the last match, and he might be the one to make way for Gaikwad.
Shreyas Iyer: With India needing a win in the series-decider to level the series, Shreyas Iyer is likely to get some playing time, especially with the first ODI scheduled on Sunday. He is expected to play a crucial part for India in the longer formats.
Suryakumar Yadav (captain): While on the captaincy department Suryakumar did a good job, the number one T20I batter also scored a quickfire half-century in the previous match. He will look to carry on with the same momentum.
Rinku Singh: The southpaw has lived up to the hype in the early days of his career so far. India will be needing more from their new ‘match-finisher’ in the do-or-die match.
Jitesh Sharma: With Ishan Kishan all set to feature in the upcoming ODIs, Jitesh Sharma is likely to keep the wickets in the final match. However, he will look to impress the management ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup.
Ravindra Jadeja: While his bowling and fielding has been class apart in the Indian team, the star all-rounder has had difficult couple of months with the bat. He scored 19 off 14 balls in the last match.
Kuldeep Yadav: Replacing Ravi Bishnoi in the playing XI, Kuldeep Yadav made an instant impact in the challenging conditions. He conceded just 26 runs in three overs and also managed to take a wicket.
Mohammed Siraj: On his return to the team, Mohammed Siraj had a mixed outing with the ball. In his first, he conceded 14, but made a strong comeback in his last to overs to end up with 27 runs and one wicket in three overs.
Mukesh Kumar: Despite conceding some extra runs, Mukesh Kumar impressed everyone with his line, length and variations. He is likely to keep his place in the team.
Avesh Khan: The pacer is likely to get a nod in the team ahead of Arshdeep Singh, who had forgetful outing in the last match.
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