South Africa's bowling not an issue for Indian batting, claims Sanjay Manjrekar ahead of T20 World Cup final

Sanjay Manjrekar, the former Indian cricketer has shared his opinion on the India vs South Africa T20 World Cup final to be played on Saturday in Barbados. 

India defeated England to make the final while South Africa went past Afghanistan. The two games turned out to be very different. Afghanistan were bowled out for 56 while India dominated England in the second semi-final in Guyana. 

India and South Africa are both unbeaten so far in the T20 World Cup. The Proteas have won eight games while the Men in Blue have seven wins to their name. Manjrekar while speaking to ESPNCricinfo said that Indian batters might not be tested by the South African bowlers, especially the spinners. 

The South African bowling attack has been among the wickets. Anrich Nortje has picked up 13 wickets, Kagiso Rabada 12, Tabraiz Shamsi 10 and Keshav Maharaj 9. Their Indian counterparts too have been amongst the wickets. Arshdeep Singh has picked up 15, Jasperit Bumrah 13, Kuldeep Yadav 10, and Hardik Pandya 7. 

When asked whether the South African bowling attack will be the best India will face Sanjay Manjrekar said " I think Australia was very good, England maybe not so much. South Africa is a very good bowling attack, led by a captain who on the day will go to a bowler who will be more likely to make an impact. So yeah India will be tested but I don't see Indian batting having an issue because they have found different players to come to terms with the challenge".

Also Read : Umpires announced for the India vs South Africa T20 World Cup 2024 final

Manjrekar further said that India have found different matchwinners in different matches. As has been the case, despite Virat Kohli's lean patch in this tournament, the likes of Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, and Suryakumar Yadav have stepped up for the team in different matches.  Rohit has scored 248 runs for India, SKY 196, and Pant 171. Pandya too has been impactful with both bat and ball. 

"If the usual suspects don't get the runs, somebody else comes in and handles the situation, that's how India will play."

South African Batting Will Be The Major Issue: Sanjay Manjrekar

Manjrekar on the contrary felt that the South African batting might be tested by the Indian spinners. The likes of Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, and Ravindra Jadeja tested the England batters and the South African batters too might face the challenge. 

"The South African batting will be the major issue that will decide the fate of the match and the difference between the two sides," Manjrekar concluded. 

The Indian team has been accused of ball-tampering and other charges after they won matches against Australia and England rather convincingly. However, Rohit Sharma has brushed aside the concerns and asked people to look at things with an "open mind".

Also Read: "ICC owes an apology" - Sanjay Manjrekar extremely furious at governing body ahead of T20 World Cup 2024 final