IND vs SA – 1st T20I Preview
Team India will take on South Africa in the first T20I match, to be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on June 9 (Thursday). It must be noted that the Men in Blue are without the services of some of their prominent players including Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah, but still, they look very strong on paper.
The home side will be under the leadership of the wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant. South Africa, on the other hand, has also announced a strong squad for the tour with the likes of Quinton de Kock, David Miller, and Aiden Markram to lead the batting department.
In bowling, the onus will be on express pacer Kagiso Rabada and number one ranked T20I bowler Tabraiz Shamsi to put a hold on the strong Indian batting line-up including Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Hardik Pandya, and Ishan Kishan among others. With the 2022 T20 World Cup slated to start in October this year, both teams will want to win the five-match series and find the right playing combination for the all-important tournament.
Here’s the predicted playing XI of India vs South Africa:
India
Despite Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli missing from the squad, the Indian batting department looks quite formidable with the likes of Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, and Ishan Kishan in the squad. In the bowling department, a lot will be expected from senior bowlers including Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yuzvendra Chahal among others. KL Rahul was ruled out of the series due to an injury.
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant (c/wk), Deepak Hooda, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal
South Africa
Quinton de Kock, who had an excellent outing in IPL 2022 and finished as the third-highest run-getter in the tournament, will have the role to provide a solid start. Similarly, David Miller along with Rassie van der Dussen will want to provide the finishing touches for the Proteas.
Quinton de Kock (wk), Temba Bavuma (c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Reeza Hendricks, David Miller, Dwaine Pretorious, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi, Anrich Nortje
