Ahmedabad, February 21 – Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma's strategy of playing a defensive role rather than aggressive strokes will be tested by a strong South African team that seems ready to exploit weaknesses in the Indian team during their opening match in the T20 World Cup on Sunday.
The Proteas team has a formidable bowling attack consisting of Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, and Aiden Markram, and the defending champions will be aware of the challenge.
The two teams have played six matches in the last two months, and it remains to be seen which team will perform better on Sunday.
India has not faced tough questions in the group stage, but the home team is aware that their batting has not been consistent.
Except for opener Ishan Kishan (two half-centuries and a strike rate of 202), the other three batsmen in the top four have not performed well.
Abhishek Sharma has struggled, scoring three ducks, and Suryakumar and Tilak have also not been consistent. They have found it difficult to score runs on pitches that favor spin.
India needs batsmen who can score quickly, and Hardik Pandya (strike rate of 155) and Shivam Dube (strike rate of 178) have been doing this at the back end of the innings.
It will be interesting to see if captain Markram decides to bowl spin in the Powerplay, especially since Abhishek has been dismissed twice by off-spinners.
While Abhishek's form is a concern, Tilak's inconsistent batting throughout the tournament is also a worry.
Against Pakistan, he scored 25 off 24 balls, against Namibia it was 25 off 21, and against Netherlands it was 31 off 27.
His strike rate in the tournament is just over 120, which is significantly lower than his career average of 141.
Except for his match-winning 84 off 49 balls against a US team that lost two bowlers to hamstring injuries, Suryakumar has also struggled against Pakistan and Netherlands.
His tournament strike rate of 136 is much lower than his career strike rate of 163.
India, with its eight batsmen and aggressive approach, cannot afford to have two batsmen who struggle to score on difficult pitches.
In tournaments like the T20 World Cup, it's important to be cautious.
The overall quality of this team is undeniable, which is why good teams can score 200 on good days, and this Indian team is capable of scoring close to 200 on average.
However, India's bowling attack, with Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakravarthy taking six wickets in 20 overs, makes them a formidable opponent.
In the initial round, none of the four teams, including a weaker Pakistan team, were able to contain them.
Chakravarthy has taken nine wickets in four games with an economy rate of 5.16, and Bumrah has conceded only six runs per over in his three games.
However, against a strong batting lineup, which includes players like Quinton de Kock, Markram, Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs, Ryan Rickleton, David Miller, and Marco Jansen, the entire bowling unit will need to perform well.
The match against South Africa will be a good indicator of how the Indian team will perform in the later stages of the tournament.
In terms of changes, India is expected to play Kuldeep Yadav instead of Arshdeep Singh, and Axar Patel will return after a one-match rest to replace Washington Sundar.
For South Africa, Jansen, Ngidi, and Maharaj, who were rested against the UAE, will be playing.
Squads:
India: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Ishan Kishan (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Sanju Samson (wk), Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh.
South Africa: Aiden Markram (captain), Quinton de Kock (wk), Ryan Rickleton, Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Keshav Maharaj, Corbin Bosch, Anrich Nortje, Kwena Maphaka, George Linde, Jason Smith.
Match starts: 7 pm.
