India vs South Africa: Have Not Lived up to Their Potential

• South Africa is currently leading the series 2-1
• A win in this match will help the Proteas clinch the series
• On the other hand, India must win this match to restore parity and make the fifth T20I a virtual final

India vs South Africa Odds

India vs South Africa Prediction and Pick

Though they have not lived up to their potential in this series, Indies enjoy supremacy it comes to head-to-head records. These two sides have crossed paths on 20 occasions previously, of which India won 10 games while the Proteas emerged victoriously on eight occasions, with a couple of matches being abandoned.

India will be rejuvenated after the triumph in the last game, and hence, we have predicted them to win this game.

India to Win

India: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Umran Malik/Avesh Khan

South Africa: Temba Bavuma (c), Reeza Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Dwaine Pretorius, Wayne Parnell, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi/Anrich Nortje

Rejuvenated and Revamped, India Aim to Restore Parity While South Africa Eyes Series Win

India will take on South Africa for the fourth of the five-match T20I series on Friday, 17th June. This match will be played at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot.

India did not have the start they would have wanted, as they lost the first couple of matches. In the first match, Rishabh Pant’s men scored 211 runs but still failed to defend the total, courtesy of brilliant knocks from Rassie van der Dussen and David Miller. In the second match, the men in blue scored 148 runs, which Temba Bavuma’s team chased down quite easily.

However, with their backs to the wall, the hosts did manage to bounce back in the last game. Pant’s boys batted first once again and scored 179 runs, with both openers Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad scoring half-centuries. However, this time around, the Proteas could not chase the total down. South Africa were bowled out for 131, courtesy of a four-fer from Harshal Patel and three wickets from Yuzvendra Chahal.

Team News

Given that they registered their first win of the series in the last game, India could opt to play an unchanged line-up, though one particular change will not only make perfect sense, but also bring smiles to the faces of every Indian fan.

Avesh Khan has endured a tough campaign so far, having failed to pick up wickets in any of the first three matches. In his place, Rahul Dravid and his think tank could finally hand Jammu & Kashmir youngster Umran Malik his Indian debut.

On the other hand, South Africa could also make one tweak in their pace contingent. Anrich Nortje had a poor outing in the third T20I, as he conceded 23 runs in the couple of overs that he bowled. Besides that, his economy rate in this series has been close to 10 runs per over, with Kagiso Rabada, Wayne Parnell and Dwaine Pretorius all proving to be more economical. Hence, Nortje might have to make way for Lungi Ngidi in this match.

Key Players

Ishan Kishan: Though the Indian batters have not had a memorable time so far in this series, Ishan Kishan has turned out to be a much-needed exception for the men in blue. The opening batter has scored 164 runs, while neither of his teammates has managed to reach even the 100-run mark. Kishan, moreover, has maintained a healthy average of 54.66 and an equally impressive strike rate of 157.69, while he struck half-centuries in the first and the last match.

Heinrich Klaasen: South Africa have plenty of big names in their batting department, but among them, not many would have expected Heinrich Klaasen to emerge as their number one asset. The wicketkeeper-batter is currently leading the run-scoring charts for the team from the rainbow nation, having scored 110 runs at an average of 55 and a strike rate of 157.14. The lad from Pretoria scored 81 runs in his first match and 29 runs in the last game.

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