The action moved forward as India (IND) and South Africa (SA) entered the third T20I of the ongoing five-match series at the picturesque venue of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala on Sunday, December 14. With the ongoing third game, the series is currently levelled at 1-1 after the Proteas made a brilliant comeback in New Chandigarh to revenge their loss from Cuttack in the series opener.
Toss Update
India won the toss and the captain confirmed their decision of bowling first as the wicket looks fairly decent for batting in the second innings. Suryakumar Yadav further announced a couple of changes to the Men in Blue’s line-up, both of them being forced, as Kuldeep Yadav and Harshit Rana found a spot in the Playing XI. Meanwhile, the Proteas skipper Aiden Markram also confirmed that he will like to bat at the chilly weather in Dharamshala, further mentioning the three changes that they made to the line-up.
Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel miss out for IND, SA make 3 changes
For India, one of the biggest shocking change to the Playing XI was star pacer Jasprit Bumrah missing out the contest. At the toss time, it was revealed that the Ahmedabad-born has gone back home due to a few personal, familial reasons. Meanwhile, star all-rounder Axar Patel was also forced to warm the bench due to illness.
Sanju Samson was kept once again kept out of the Playing XI by the Men in Blue once again, as skipper Suryakumar Yadav confirmed his choice to stick to Jitesh Sharma as the wicketkeeper, while vice-captain Shubman Gill continues to partner alongside Abhishek Sharma as the opener. The reason behind Samson’s exclusion from the line-up was not explicitly mentioned, however, it is assumed that the team is not in mood to make any changes to their batting order apart from remaining flexible.
On the other hand, South Africa had to make three changes and revamp their winning combination from the second game. They brought in Corbin Bosch, Anrich Nortje, and Tristan Stubbs, as George Linde, Lutho Sipamla, and David Miller continue to be out.
What did the captains say?
Aiden Markram, South Africa Captain
Very cold, it’s a beautiful venue. It was a good response. It was nice to see that. Tonight it’s important to perform. It’s a challenge. We’ll have to asses the condiitions up front. Hopefully we get a good score. We have played a couple of games here, the boys are pretty excited. We have three changes tonight – Bosch, Nortje, Stubbs come in.
Suryakumar Yadav, India Captain
We’re going to bowl first. It’s been a good wicket all weekend and I don’t think it’ll change much, but there is a little bit of dew already and we feel it might get heavier later on. So, we’re happy to bowl first. It’s a wonderful place, wonderful people, and a fantastic ground. Hopefully when we bat and bowl, we can give everyone some good entertainment. Every game is important.
The way they played in the second game showed the beauty of this sport. What matters most is how you come back, and that’s what we want to do tonight, play our best game, enjoy ourselves, and be fearless. If we stay switched on for all three hours, that will be key for us. It looks like a good pitch. We’ve made two forced changes. Axar Patel misses out as he’s unwell, and Jasprit Bumrah misses out due to personal reasons back home. Harshit Rana comes in, and Kuldeep Yadav comes in.
IND vs SA, 3rd T20I — Playing 11s
India
Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma(w), Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy
South Africa
Reeza Hendricks, Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Aiden Markram (captain), Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs, Donovan Ferreira, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi, Ottneil Baartman
India
