Teams:
South Africa: Quinton de Kock(w), Reeza Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Tristan Stubbs, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj(c), Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje
India: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Avesh Khan
Keshav Maharaj, South Africa captain: The dew factor later in the evening might play a part. It’s a good wicket here in Bangalore. Temba’s out, he was injured in the last game. Tristan Stubbs, Reeza Hendricks and Kagiso Rabada get back into the side while Temba, Shammo (Shamsi) and Marco (Jansen) miss out. We’ve gone for the extra batter, four seamers and one spinner.
Rishabh Pant, India captain: I think I’ve tried practicing, but it doesn’t work. Looks like a good wicket, but we would like to have a total of around 180. The only conversation we had was to focus on our process, and we’re in the right space of mind. We’re playing with the same team.
TOSS: South Africa win the toss and skipper Keshav Maharaj opts to field.
Pitch report by Deep Dasgupta:
“It’s nice and firm with good carry. Decent number of cracks, especially the area where spinners would bowl. This pitch is also aggressive a touch. Spinners might get a bit of extra help. It has been overcast last four-five days so not much dew, but chasing sides have done well at this venue for the most part.”
Dinesh Karthik has made quite the impact in the Indian middle-order in the ongoing T20I series — his first appearance in international cricket since the semi-final against New Zealand in the 2019 ICC World Cup.
And among the many ex-cricketers impressed with his run in the current series, besides a stupendous run in IPL 2022 for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, is former India pacer Ashish Nehra, who believes DK has already booked his place in the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year.
Team India enter the series decider in Bengaluru eyeing their first T20I series victory over the Proteas as well as Rishabh Pant’s first major feat as India captain.
The Proteas, on the other hand, will hope to keep their superb record against India in 2022 intact with a third series win over the Men in Blue after beating them in the Tests and ODIs back home earlier this year.
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the fifth and final T20I between India and South Africa at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, with the series currently locked at 2-2.
Can the Men in Blue lift the title with a third win in a row and complete an emphatic comeback today? Or will the Proteas bounce back from the defeats and collect another series win over the Indians in 2022?
Stay tuned to find out.