3 things India need to do right to beat South Africa in the 1st T20I ft. picking Ramandeep Singh
Team India are all set to commence their next T20I assignment, which will be in the Rainbow Nation. The Men in Blue will face off against South Africa in four matches, with the opening game scheduled to be held in Durban on Friday, November 8.
India are in a tough run of form across formats at the moment. Desperate for a win, Suryakumar Yadav and Co. will need to make the most of the resources at their disposal. Although they will be without Gautam Gambhir and most of the senior team's support staff, the visitors will need to be at the top of their game from a tactical perspective.
India’s squad for 4 T20Is against South Africa: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Avesh Khan, Yash Dayal.
On that note, here are three things India need to do right to beat South Africa in the first T20I.
#3 India need to emphasize on batting depth
India have some choices to make when it comes to their playing XI for the first T20I against South Africa. They could either opt to have a deep batting lineup by handing Ramandeep Singh his debut or shore up their bowling by picking three specialist fast bowlers.
The former seems better suited to the team's needs at the moment. With Durban likely to be a high-scoring venue and South Africa having a power-packed batting lineup, India will need every ounce of firepower they can get.
Ramandeep was in excellent form during the recently concluded Emerging Asia Cup and has done everything in his power to warrant making his maiden international appearance.
#2 Suryakumar Yadav needs to keep overs of his ace spinner against South Africa's middle order
India will pick either Ravi Bishnoi or Varun Chakaravarthy as their lead spinner for the first T20I against South Africa. Captain Suryakumar Yadav needs to be careful with that bowler's usage and not waste any overs of him in the powerplay.
That might be tough to do, given that India are likely to play with only two specialist fast bowlers, but it's something that Suryakumar will need to manage. South Africa's middle order features big hitters like David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen and Tristan Stubbs, all of whom are excellent against spin.
Either Bishnoi or Chakaravarthy, depending upon who is picked, will be the visitors' trump card against that lineup.
#1 If India need a left-hander to be promoted, it needs to be Axar Patel and not Rinku Singh
The Gautam Gambhir-led management has made some curious calls so far, one of which is promoting Rinku Singh up the order when the team has needed a left-hander. They will not be part of this tour, with VVS Laxman stepping in as head coach, but the visitors will need to be careful not to make the same error.
Rinku is a capable player, but he isn't the best hitter of spin. Moreover, India need the calm left-hander to be present at the death overs to finish off the innings. Axar Patel, who was promoted up the order to great effect in the 2024 T20 World Cup final, will be the better option if such a situation arises.
Axar's batting has been untapped for quite a while now and should be utilized to the fullest in an ideal role.