The Indian bowlers will come under sharp scrutiny in the team’s effort to merge the immediate task of series-levelling and the distant target of finding an ideal combination for next year’s T20 World Cup during the third and final match against South Africa here on Thursday.
The second T20I against the Proteas was a microcosm of the struggles these next-line Indian bowlers have gone through more often than not over the last three weeks.
The left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh and his right-arm colleague Mukesh Kumar were carted around by South African opener Reeza Hendricks, leaking 15.50 and 11.33 runs per over and they needed to regroup in a day’s time.
Of course, rain and dew made their task a bit tough at Port Elizabeth but the pair lacked the imagination or control while bowling in a rather unfavourable environment.
The non-availability of pacer Deepak Chahar for personal reasons only has added to the bowling woes Arshdeep and Mukesh are the bowlers the management trusts to produce forceful efforts in the absence of seniors like Jasprit Bumrah.
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But this reserve bench hasn’t been able to vindicate that faith so far, many times finding themselves in deep waters.
In fact, the 4-1 score-line in the recent home T20I series victory over Australia has cleverly papered over some flaws in this bowling unit.
Arshdeep Singh had bowled a brilliant last over in the fifth T20I at Bengaluru at Aussies but that apart the pacer struggled to find his range in the series where he conceded 10.68 runs per over across four matches for as many wickets.
Mukesh seemed to have added a couple of yards of pace but the seamer was also largely unable to stop the flow of runs, and against the Australians, he took four wickets from four matches but went for 9.12 runs per over.
The second T20I at Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) was a mere continuation of their travail and they need to pull their act together tomorrow to prevent a series of losses in the early part of a tough tour.
With just four T20Is remaining ahead of the T20 World Cup, it is also imperative for them to keep themselves in the mix before the selectors turn their eyes elsewhere.
Ravindra Jadeja, who played a T20I after a hiatus of one year and four months, was unimpressive at St George’s Park and the Indian vice-captain will be looking for a better outing here.
But then there is always another side to the coin. Rinku Singh continued to impress while making his first fifty in this format and he would be eager to finish on the winning side this time.
Suryakumar scored another fifty, and it was also a statement that the Indian captaincy sits lightly on him.
He would like to guide his side to a series-equalling triumph with his bat and leadership skills.
On that note, India will also expect a quick start from their openers Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal – unless Ruturaj Gaikwad recovers from his illness to return to pole position – something that has been central to India’s white-ball template under head coach Rahul Dravid.
Both Gill and Jaiswal could not negate the extra bounce in the pitch in the last match while getting dismissed for nought each.
However, Johannesburg is a venue where India has done well traditionally across all three formats and in T20Is they hold a 3-1 record in their favour.
South Africa too will have their own concern in the bowling department as pacers Gerald Coetzee, Marco Jansen, and Lungi Ngidi (injured as of now) will miss tomorrow’s match as they head to play in First-Class matches to prepare for the red-ball leg of the tour.
But banking on past records and the opposition’s weak points alone will not work against an outfit like South Africa, as India, especially bowlers, need to find a way to fire in unison.
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