India captain Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and opted to bowl against South Africa in the third T20I of the five-match series on Sunday in Dharamsala. In a big change, Jasprit Bumrah has been replaced by Harshit Rana in India’s Playing XI. Bumrah misses out the game due to “personal reasons”, informed Suryakumar at the toss. In another change, the hosts roped in Kuldeep Yadav, dropping Axar Patel, who is unwell. The series is currently levelled 1-1 after the Proteas registered a 51-run victory in the second T20I in Mullanpur.
Questions revolve around the form of India’s top batters, specifically captain Suryakumar Yadav and vice-captain Shubman Gill. However, middle-order enforcer Tilak Varma is in form. He believes conquering the cold shouldn’t be difficult for a champion team. As he insisted on Saturday, “At this level, there can be no excuses.” The conditions vouch for another high-scoring game even as the seam bowlers will relish the conditions up front in either innings.
In the first T20I in Cuttack, India registered a thumping win after a strong batting display while batting first. But the scripts were flipped in New Chandigarh as India’s chase never got going once they lost early wickets. Both matches so far have been won by teams batting first, even though the captain winning the toss has looked to chase.
