3 things India need to do to beat South Africa in 1st T20I
India will take on South Africa at the Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Stadium Cricket Ground in Durban, in the first of the three T20I matches in the series on December 10.
Despite coming off a convincing 4-1 victory against Australia in a T20I series, India still have a host of questions to answer in this format. Suryakumar Yadav will continue to lead the side, with key players such as Shubman Gill, Kuldeep Yadav, and Mohammed Siraj returning to the fold.
Aiden Markram will lead the South African side characterized by a blend of power and youth. The explosive batting lineup, featuring Matthew Breetzke, Tristan Stubbs, Donovan Ferreira, Reeza Hendricks, and Heinrich Klaasen, poses a potential challenge for India's bowlers who may find themselves under pressure at Kingsmead.
Here we take a look at 3 things India need to do to beat South Africa in 1st T20I:
#3 Maximising the powerplay
Kingsmead, the venue for the first T20I, has relatively short square boundaries, and the pitches favour seam bowlers more than spinners. This is where the challenge and opportunity lie for the Indian batters.
In the home series against Australia, Yashasvi Jaiswal showed the intent to go after the bowlers without any sighters. He needs to be backed to continue this same intent in South Africa on true pitches.
Ruturaj Gaikwad is the bank at the top order, but with Shubman Gill making a return, it will be interesting to see how the top three turn out for India. However, they have to make the best use of the first six overs.
#2 Spinners coming to the fore
Having ended December as the leading wicket-taker in India's recent T20I series against Australia, Ravi Bishnoi comes into this series as the number one bowler in this format. There is no Axar Patel in the squad and Bishnoi will be India's leading spinner.
His unique run-up could present a fresh challenge to the South African lineup which continues to struggle against tricky leg-spinners and has yet to encounter him in this format.
He will also find support from Kuldeep Yadav - who comes into this match after a fabulous World Cup. These two bowlers can really pose huge problems for South Africa if they get into the groove.
#3 Acing the death overs
Mukesh Kumar has become the go-to bowler for India in the death overs in this format. Arshdeep Singh delivered a clutch over in the final match against Australia, but these two bowlers will be put to the test on shorter grounds in South Africa. Mohammed Siraj is back and he could replace one of these two bowlers.
This Indian side is rather inexperienced and how they respond when pushed to a corner in overseas conditions could well define India's campaign. Deepak Chahar, if available, will take the new ball and can be relied upon to provide the early breakthrough. He has developed some control at the backend, but this area will still pose few problems for Surykumar Yadav in this series.