(Cricket news) After losing the first two T20Is against South Africa, India managed to pull out a comeback to bring the series back on level terms at 2-2. Now the two teams gear up for the series decider at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru. The momentum is with India and South Africa may be missing a few crucial players with injuries. It will be a very good test for the young Indian side for future tournaments where they will have to deal with the pressure situations.
India's possible playing XI:
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Bench: Deepak Hooda, Venkatesh Iyer, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi.
India have persisted with the exact same line-up for the 4 matches and it is expected to stay the same way for the 5th one unless there are any injuries. Focus will be on Rishabh Pant who has been really short of runs lately. The Indian side is looking well balanced in this series so far. Shreyas Iyer is also yet to perform to his full potential in this series and he will be under a little bit of pressure. Hardik Pandya has been good with the willow but his bowling has room for improvement.
South Africa possible playing XI:
Reeza Hendricks, Quinton de Kock, Dwaine Pretorius, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Marco Jansen, Lungi Ngidi, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi, Anrich Nortje.
Bench:, Tristan Stubbs, Aiden Markaram, Temba Bavuma, Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Rabada,
Temba Bavuma was retired hurt in the last match and is expected to be out of contention which means that Maharaj will lead the side. If Parnell and Rabada are fit then they should be back in the side but it is unlikely. Quinton de Kock will have to take more responsibility at the top of the order as he hasn't been firing lately. Maharaj and Shamsi haven't shown their true potential but at the same time the pitches haven't assisted them.
The Chinnaswamy stadium is traditionally a high scoring ground. Unlike all the other pitches in this series, this one is likely to be flat and wouldn't change much throughout the game. Up until now the series has been an entertaining one as it is 2-2 before the deciding 5 T20I. What it hasn't had yet is a thrilling match with a last over finish. Fans will be hoping to see that in Bengaluru among other things.
Also read: How much will KL Rahul's absence in the England Test affect India?
