India vs South Africa 2019: 3 changes India can consider making for the 3rd T20I
Team India put on a clinical performance in the second T20I against South Africa at Mohali to clinch the match by seven wickets. Indian captain Virat Kohli led from the front with an unbeaten 72 from 52 balls, during the course of which he also became the leading run-scorer in T20 internationals, overtaking Rohit Sharma.
There was further good news for India as struggling opener Shikhar Dhawan got some crucial runs, scoring a fluent 40 from 31 balls before being dismissed off a spectacular catch from David Miller. Deepak Chahar impressed with the ball for India, finishing with figures of 2 for 22.
As for South Africa, they were left to regret throwing away a great platform. Skipper Quinton de Kock made a breezy 52 from 37 balls, laying the foundations for a big score. However, from 88 for 1 in the 12th over, South Africa endured a spectacular collapse and finished at 149 for 5, with Temba Bavuma (49) making the only other significant contribution.
The teams now head to Bengaluru for the third and final T20I at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. While India need to win the game to seal the series, they could be inclined to make some changes to see how things stand keeping the World T20 in mind.
Here are three changes India can consider making for the 3rd T20I:
#1 Move Shreyas Iyer to 4 and drop Rishabh Pant down the order
The pressure on Rishabh Pant is growing with every failure. Even coach Ravi Shastri has made it clear that Pant needs to pull up his socks. At Mohali, Pant played a silly shot to throw away his wicket after scoring just 4 runs. It is obviously too early to write him off completely, but from what has been on display in the last two series, the #4 spot seems at least one position too high for Pant, who has consistently faltered in that position.
In contrast, Shreyas Iyer did well in that position in the ODIs in West Indies, scoring consecutive fifties. In Mohali, he played a handy cameo of 16 to take the pressure off Virat Kohli. Thus, it wouldn't be a bad idea to push him up to number four and drop Pant down the order.
Also see – World Test Championship points table