SA vs IND, 3rd T20I: Hosts Bowl First, Injured Virat Kohli Misses Out

South Africa won the toss and decided to field first in the third and last T20 International at  Newlands, Cape Town. The three-match series is currently locked at 1-1, and the winner will be decided after the upcoming game.

India will be without their skipper Virat Kohli who is injured. In his absence, Rohit Sharma will lead the side. Both the teams have made quite few changes for the all-important clash.

Here is what the captains said:

JP Duminy:

We’ll look to have a bowl first. It is a formula that worked for us in the first two games and we’ll look to carry on. The formula has worked, the grass out there on the track should work in our favour too and we’ll look to take advantage. Two changes in our side. JJ Smuts is out and Miller would open in his place.

Rohit Sharma:

Virat has a stiff back and he needs some rest. A few changes – Dinesh, Axar and Bumrah come in. In the last two games we played we had decent runs on the board and we know exactly where we went wrong. Looks like there is a fair bit of grass, a bit of carry and that’s the reason we are playing with four seamers. Good to have the last game as a decider for the spectators. They’ve come out in large numbers and supported us all through.

Preview:

The hosts finally came good with the bat when they needed it the most. The Proteas thrashed India by six wickets in the second T20I to keep the series alive. South Africa were looking down and out after India posted a massive 188. However, Heinrich Klaasen’s 30-ball 69 and JP Duminy’s unbeaten fifty helped the hosts chase down the total with six wickets in hand and eight balls remaining.

Both the teams have won each game comprehensively which perfectly sets the tone for a thrilling finale. India will be desperate to make the most of their white-ball form and win another series in South Africa while South Africa will be keen to avenge the ODI series loss.

SA’s XI:

Reeza Hendricks, David Miller, Jean-Paul Duminy(c), Heinrich Klaasen(w), Farhaan Behardien, Christiaan Jonker, Andile Phehlukwayo, Aaron Phangiso, Chris Morris, Junior Dala, Tabraiz Shamsi

India’s XI:

Rohit Sharma(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni(w), Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel