Losing the toss for the third successive time, India were put in to bat by Temba Bavuma. Scoring 179 in the first innings, Rishabh Pant made amends by rallying the bowling attack to defend the total. The wicket-keeper used the bowlers well, especially the spinners, en route to the 48-run win.
Speaking about the captaincy of Tuesday’s encounter, Parthiv Patel said on Cricbuzz:
The former U19 World Cup member was initially named as vice-captain for the home series. However, a late injury blow to KL Rahul meant that the 24-year-old wicketkeeper-batter was handed the opportunity to lead Team India for the first time.
Using five pure bowlers to defend the total in the third T20I, the stand-in captain employed a different strategy as opposed to the initial contests.
Claiming the presence of the sixth bowler to be absolutely necessary, Patel said:
Coming on the back of an imperious title win with the Gujarat Titans (GT), Hardik Pandya has been used at No.5 in the batting unit where he has scored a couple of crucial cameos. He has bowled four overs in the series, with no wickets to his name.
“It is quite relaxing for Pant to know that there is a sixth bowling option” - Ashish Nehra
Pant’s bowling changes in the third T20I were not as haphazard as they were in the first two matches. The match situation played a role as India were never under pressure while defending the total and did not require the services of Pandya with the ball.
Opining that it would be unfair to drop Avesh Khan after a victorious outing, former bowler Ashish Nehra said during the same interaction:
India will take on South Africa in the fourth T20I of the five-match series in Rajkot on June 17 (Friday).
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